Ukrainian intelligence has announced the intensification of Russia's hybrid operations against Moldova ahead of the Moldova-EU summit.
The Foreign Intelligence Service reported this.
Russia tries to disrupt Moldova-EU summit
According to Ukrainian intelligence, Moscow is seeking to disrupt Chisinau’s European integration course through fake information campaigns, diplomatic pressure, and the creation of artificial security threats.
Now watching
The first deputy head of the Russian presidential administration, Sergei Kiriyenko, was named as the coordinator of the operations. He is responsible for attempts to form a pro-Russian government in Moldova and the general opposition to European integration processes.
According to the data, the Russian bot network Matryoshka is distributing fake videos on behalf of well-known European media (DW, Spiegel, Euronews, Business Insider) to discredit President Maia Sandu.
On June 25, Russia accused two Moldovan citizens of espionage after refusing to grant them consular access. The Moldovan Foreign Ministry called it a politically motivated move.
In addition, under the guise of a kickboxing championship, Russian and Belarusian individuals with military backgrounds tried to enter Chisinau. Moldovan border guards denied entry to 195 people, and another 176 were not allowed on flights.
Prime Minister Dorin Recean has warned that the Kremlin could try to deploy some 10,000 troops to Transnistria if pro-Russian forces win parliamentary elections on September 28.
