Moldova currently faces no direct military threat from Russia, although Moscow is waging a “hybrid war” against Chisinau and trying to overthrow the country’s government. Such a statement did Moldovan Defense Minister Anatoly Nosatii in an interview with AFP.
“Currently, there is no direct military danger to Moldova (from Russia), but there are other kinds of dangers that affect the security of the country – hybrid warfare,” Nosatii said.
In particular, according to the minister, Russia used “gas blackmail” against Moldova when it cut the country’s gas supply. Moreover, Moscow is spreading disinformation and creating tension in Moldovan society in order to overthrow the government in Chisinau, claims Nosatii.
“The biggest challenge (for Moldova) now is a series of provocations that the Russian Federation is trying to use to destabilize the situation,” he added.
In early February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he had handed Moldovan leader Maia Sandu a “Russian document” with a plan to destabilize the political situation in Moldova. Subsequently, Sandu said that Chisinau was able to confirm data from Ukrainian intelligence, according to which Russia was planning to stage a coup in Moldova.
According to Sandu, in order to implement these plans, Moscow, in particular, was going to attract saboteurs who would go to protests and attack government buildings. At the same time, for a month, rallies have been taking place in Moldova against rising prices, organized by the Shor party, considered pro-Russian, and on March 12, demonstrators between in a confrontation with the police.
At the same time, the situation in Transnistria is “stable and under control”, stressed Nosatii. At the same time, in mid-February, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean affirmed the need to demilitarize the unrecognized republic by withdrawing the Russian army from it. The same demand was reiterated by the Minister of Defense of Moldova.
Moscow, in turn, claimed that Kiev planned to stage a provocation against Transnistria by invading it and using radioactive materials. In addition, there were reports in Pridnestrovie that Ukraine was planning a terrorist attack against senior officials of the republic.
In mid-February, Moldovan President Maia Sandu, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, also declared that Russia is waging a hybrid war in order to overthrow power in the country through protests and obtain early elections.
She said Ukrainian special services had provided Moldovan authorities with documents containing instructions on the rules of entry into Moldova for citizens of Russia, Belarus, Serbia and Montenegro, who were supposed to take part in the protests. Moldova’s leader said special services and the police were working to prevent these threats.
In the summer of 2022, mass protests began in Moldova demanding the resignation of Sandu and the government. Protesters have blamed the country’s authorities for the rising prices of food, gas, electricity, utilities, gasoline and diesel fuel, which has led to an economic crisis. Protesters also blamed the government for its unwillingness to negotiate gas supplies with Russia at favorable prices and to resume agricultural exports to that country, as well as for pressure exerted on the opposition.
