The kremlin Counts on the Split of Moldova Before the EU Summit

russia has stepped up hybrid operations against Moldova ahead of the Moldova-EU Summit. The campaign is coordinated by first deputy head of the rf president’s administration Sergei Kiriyenko, who is responsible for countering Chisinau’s European integration and promoting pro-russian forces. His task is to form a pro-russian government in Moldova.

The kremlin’s operation covers several areas:

Media Manipulation: the “Matryoshka” network of pro-kremlin bots spreads fake videos stylized as products of leading European media outlets such as Deutsche Welle, Spiegel, Euronews, and Business Insider to discredit President Maia Sandu.

Diplomatic Pressure: on June 25, russia accused two Moldovans of espionage and denied them consular access. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Moldova rejected the accusations as groundless and politically motivated.

Creating Security Threats: russian and belarusian athletes with a military background tried to enter Chisinau under the guise of a kickboxing championship. The entry of 195 people was denied, and another 176 were not allowed to board flights.

Moldova claims that moscow is making deliberate efforts to destabilize the country ahead of the September 28 parliamentary elections. According to Prime Minister Dorin Recean, if pro-russian forces win, the kremlin intends to deploy 10,000 troops in Transnistria.