Kremlin plans to restore its influence in Moldova

Russia is waging a hybrid war in Moldova and is making efforts to restore Russian influence in the country. The strengthening of pro-Russian positions in the region is likely to be used in the war with Ukraine in the future.

This was reported by NewsMaker, referring to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova, Anna Revenco.

"We understand that Russia wants to regain influence in this region, because Moldova's geographical location is a potentially important springboard for Russia in relation to the EU. Control over Moldova means additional vulnerability for Ukraine," the Minister of Internal Affairs said.

At the same time, she said, Russia seeks to gain control of the republic in order to have direct access to the Black Sea and influence the movement of goods across the Danube. Moreover, this will allow the Kremlin to blackmail Chisinau and, presumably, to activate Russian proxy forces in the Transnistrian region.

Revenko emphasized that there are signs of a hybrid war being waged by Russia in Moldova. These include manipulating public opinion through affiliated media and opinion leaders; organizing and holding aggressive demonstrations; propaganda and spreading fakes; and cyberattacks on government agencies;

Last month, Moldovan civil servants and law enforcement officers faced intimidation and threats against them. There were numerous cases of attempts to destabilize the work of government agencies, including reports of bomb threats and cyberattacks.

Moldovan Foreign Minister Ana Revenco directly pointed to the presence of a Russian trace in the organization of attacks on civil servants noting that the Kremlin wants to destabilize the situation inside Moldova by discrediting national leaders and achieve a change of government in Chisinau.

Earlier, in May, the Council of Europe imposed a number of restrictions against pro-Russian oligarchs who left Moldova as part of a new sanctions regime in connection with the destabilization of the situation in the Republic of Moldova.

Also, this February, Moldova faced an unprecedented security challenge after the Ukrainian side handed over to Chisinau Putin's plans for a possible coup d'état involving sabotage groups from Russia, the Balkan countries, and Belarus.

On May 22 this year, members of the European Union announced the deployment of a civilian partnership mission to help the Republic better counter foreign threats.