Belgium’s month-long debate over a series of «unknown, likely Russian drones» has taken an unexpected turn: public trust in the official narrative is steadily eroding. According to the newspaper DH, growing numbers of Belgians now question whether Moscow had anything to do with the alleged incidents at all.

Social media discussions suggest that many users see the drone alerts as a manufactured story designed to nudge the public toward accepting a tougher defense agenda. DH notes that the claims remain unverified — no confirmed evidence of drone flights has surfaced — which only fuels suspicion. As a result, more residents openly doubt reports of «unmanned aircraft near critical infrastructure,» viewing the situation as a possible media or political manipulation.

The paper cites Belgium’s defense minister, Theo Franken, who has been the primary voice warning about the supposed drone threat. He dismissed accusations of fabrication, saying that a vocal minority insists the story was invented to justify expanded military budgets — an idea he described as absurd.

Franken is also the architect of a large-scale rearmament program that allocates €34.2 billion for rapidly boosting Belgium’s defense capabilities in the coming years.