Moldova’s president called for heightened security and “maximum vigilance” after she cited fresh intelligence detailing Russian attempts to destabilize the country and overthrow her government.
(Bloomberg) — Moldova’s president called for heightened security and “maximum vigilance” after she cited fresh intelligence detailing Russian attempts to destabilize the country and overthrow her government.
President Maia Sandu spoke three days after appointing a top security adviser, Dorin Recean, as prime minister, part of a government reshuffle that takes into account Moldova’s vulnerable position after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ambition to keep its path into the European Union on track.
The Moldovan leader has consistently accused the Kremlin of seeking to undermine her government, most recently by cutting off vital energy supplies to the country. Moldovan authorities have now received intelligence backing a warning last week by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, including detailed plans by external military experts and pro-Russian forces to trigger violent protests in the country, she said.
“Russia’s objective is to change the legitimate power in Chisinau, to stop our EU integration process and use Moldova in its fight against Ukraine,” Sandu told reporters Monday in the nation’s capital.
Among Europe’s poorest, the landlocked nation of 2.6 million wedged between Ukraine and Romania has come under intense pressure since the start of Russia’s invasion. The breakaway region of Transnistria, recognized internationally as part of Moldova’s territory, is controlled by Moscow and hosts Russian military units and Soviet-era ammunition depots.
Sandu said the intelligence showed that military-trained individuals from Russia, Belarus, Serbia and Montenegro, together with internal pro-Russian forces, were seeking to organize violent demonstrations, attack buildings and possibly take hostages in an effort to destabilize the country.
The president called on parliament to fast-track legislation providing the intelligence service and prosecutors with “tools to effectively combat any threats” to security, she said in a statement. She also singled out pro-Russian opposition parties that have held anti-government protests and called for restoring relations with Russia.
Russia has regularly denied meddling in Moldova, while also repeatedly accusing the authorities in Chisinau of pursuing hostile policies. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters Friday “we urge the Moldovan authorities not to follow the lead of those who would like to make Moldova another ‘anti-Russia’ according to the Ukrainian and Baltic scenario.”
Speaking last week at an EU summit, Zelenskiy said Ukrainian intelligence intercepted a detailed plan to undermine Moldova.
“We don’t know if there was an order to act according to this plan, but we saw what they were going to do,” he said.
Moldova’s vulnerable position was laid bare during Russia’s latest barrage of missile attacks on Ukraine, when cruise missiles launched from the Black Sea crossed its air space Friday. Since the Russian invasion began, worries have arisen that the country could be overrun if Russia sought to link Transnistria to Moscow-controlled territories.
Moldova applied for EU membership and gained candidate status after the conflict erupted. The government has received hundreds of millions of euros in the past year from the EU and other international donors to help it stay afloat amid a rising energy bill and support refugees fleeing neighboring Ukraine.
–With assistance from Tony Halpin.
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