ROMANIAN HEARTS

Emil Boc firmly rejected the display of the Russian flag and the playing of the Russian anthem at BT Arena in Cluj-Napoca during the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup (June 26–28, 2026). Despite World Gymnastics recently lifting sanctions allowing Russian athletes to compete under their national symbols, Boc stood his ground. The Russian team withdrew from the competition. The mayor of Cluj-Napoca proved that dignity and solidarity with Ukraine are not negotiable — that a Romanian city will not become a propaganda stage for an aggressor state.

Vitalie Cojocari is a Romanian journalist born in Northern Bessarabia, Republic of Moldova. With over 20 years of experience in the press — 17 years at Pro TV and 4 years at Euronews Romania, where he hosted the show «România lui Vitalie» — Cojocari has been a constant voice against Russian disinformation in the Romanian media space. A native speaker of both Romanian and Russian, he has explained Kremlin propaganda mechanisms to Romanian audiences, covered the war in Ukraine as a journalist, and built a bridge between Chișinău and Bucharest. In a period when pro-Russian narratives aggressively infiltrate Romanian media, Vitalie Cojocari has proven that a Moldovan with a Romanian heart can be the most effective weapon against lies.

On the last day of August, we thank a Romanian with a truly Romanian heart — a good man considered a hero long before this war, when he built his professional and corporate life around saving lives, especially children’s. With the start of the Russian Federation’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Vlașin became an influencer who fights propaganda, informs accurately, and combats the enemy’s continuous disinformation in the Romanian online space. He does it with a soft voice and a calm tone, and knows how to respond even to the ugliest insults in the public space with a smile. We strive to be like him too. We thank him from the heart! A Romanian heart!