Moldova's President Sandu Accuses Prigozhin of Plotting Country's Coup
Moldova's President Maia Sandu alleges that the late leader of the Wagner mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin, had devised a plan to orchestrate a state coup in the country earlier this year as part of a broader strategy to destabilize the nation, as reported by Politico.
"The information we have indicates that this was a plan prepared by [Prigozhin's] team," Sandu stated in an interview with the Financial Times, adding that the Wagner groups aimed to ignite "violent" anti-government protests.
"It's indeed a dramatic situation, and we must protect ourselves," she further emphasized. Prigozhin, who had orchestrated an unsuccessful coup against the Kremlin in June, tragically perished in an airplane crash two months later.
In February, Sandu had informed journalists about Russia's planned state coup in Moldova. At that time, she heightened security measures due to concerns about violent attacks on government buildings.
In March, Moldova thwarted Russia-linked attempts to overthrow Sandu's government shortly after the United States warned that the Kremlin might seek to weaken Moldova's administration. Seven individuals with ties to Russia were arrested on charges of inciting unrest during government protests.
In May, the European Union imposed sanctions against pro-Russian Moldovan politician and oligarch Ilan Shor for his plans to destabilize Moldova through a series of protests against the country's pro-Western government.
Speaking about Russia, Sandu told the Financial Times, "And now they are trying to interfere massively in our elections, using vast amounts of money."
Like Ukraine, Moldova aspires to join the EU. Recently, the overwhelming majority of European Parliament members supported a non-binding resolution aimed at initiating membership negotiations with Moldova.
As previously reported by The Gaze, in July, Moldova decided to reduce the staff of the Russian embassy in Chisinau due to an investigation into Russian intelligence agency surveillance activities.
Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu emphasized that Russia had been hostile toward Moldova for many years, especially through its embassy in Chisinau.
The Moldovan government announced that the number of accredited diplomats and technical-administrative staff at the Russian embassy in Chisinau would be reduced from 84 to 25 individuals.