After the incident involving a Russian drone in Romania, to which the European Commission reacted quickly with sharp statements, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, hit back in the same tone. According to him, "all EU countries should keep quiet on this topic. The European countries are direct participants in the war with Russia."

Medvedev rejected the position that European countries are "neutral observers". According to him, they are actively supporting Ukraine through weapons, drone components and intelligence. "Civilian infrastructure in Russia is taking strikes made possible by European involvement," he added. And then came the line for the headline: "As the population of countries at war, you won't be able to sleep peacefully." With particular emphasis - the statement targeted locations with drone factories.

It is a rhetoric Moscow has been practising more and more often over the past few months. The idea is simple: blurring the distinction between "supporting Ukraine" and "taking part in the war". If the EU is at war - then Russian strikes against European infrastructure are not escalation, they are a "response". That is the diplomatic pre-positioning for something Moscow is already planning.

For the Balkan countries - not EU members but geopolitically in the same bloc - this is not just Russian noise. It is a signal that the next phase of this war will not be confined to Ukrainian soil. Romania is a NATO member. Poland is a NATO member. Bulgaria is a NATO member. Every Russian strike on their infrastructure - "accidental" or not - tests the alliance's response. The question is whether the 32 NATO members will react together, or whether each of them will run its own calculations. And whether Medvedev knows the answer before we do.