Declassified documents presented by Romanian intelligence prove that Călin Georgescu is supported by a state actor. The state in question is not named, but its actions are similar to operations previously carried out by Russia.
Romanian influencers, like the sports agent Ana Maria Prodan, continue to promote Călin Georgescu. Just like their favorite, influencers have been amplifying a series of Russian narratives, most of them adapted to Romania, but also all kinds of pseudo-scientific or conspiracy nonsense.
Against the background of the war in Ukraine, Russia is stepping up hybrid attacks against NATO countries. Being at the forefront of Russia’s campaign, Poland has been facing an increasing number of sabotages.
At the West’s bidding, Moldova is ready to further worsen relations with Russia and introduce visas for Russian citizens, according to a false narrative launched in Tiraspol.
The pro-Russian parties have launched the campaign for the legislative elections that will take place in 2025 in the Republic of Moldova with disinformation, claiming that Maia Sandu is not a legitimate president. The stake: the European path of the country.
Russia lost a battle in the hybrid war against Chișinău, but the election also revealed Moldova's vulnerabilities, the pro-Europeans' faulty communication and the need for the authorities to do more. Veridica’s staff and contributors analyze the result of the election.
The referendum on Moldova’s EU accession was a failure due to the tiny margin, the Ukrainian press writes. The causes of this failure include Russia’s direct actions and the fact that there’s been no de-Russification in Moldova
Moscow is hosting the opposition led by the criminal Ilan Shor and accuses Chisinau of Nazism, as it did with Ukraine. Moldova responds through security agreements with the West, from which it gets political and financial support.
Romania has the potential of becoming an energy power in the EU. Political red tape, inbred corruption and Russia’s hybrid actions have exposed the vulnerabilities of the Romanian energy sector.
Russia's strategy in Moldova is to insist on discrediting the EU and undermining the European integration process and to put less emphasis on its promotion, according to Florent Parmentier, one of the best young researchers French on the ex-Soviet space and a good connoisseur of the realities in Moldova.
The security partnership between the EU and the Republic of Moldova aims to militarize the country and push it closer to NATO, the spokeswoman of the Russian MFA, Maria Zakharova claims.
The fear of war with Russia is taking a psychological toll on Latvians. Authorities are trying to reassure them, pointing that Moscow lacks the capacity to wage war against NATO.
Two years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many Poles fear their country may be next on Putin’s bucket list.
Russian propaganda is constantly adapting its narratives in the context of the war in Ukraine, and as overt propaganda loses its effectiveness, it increasingly turns to disinformation and truncating part of the truth.
Both Transnistria and the Autonomous Region of Gagauzia seem to be heating up, against the background of an increasingly fierce hybrid war waged by the Russian Federation against the Republic of Moldova.
“All that was and is the property of the Romanian nation must be returned within the borders of the same state”, said Claudiu Târziu, the chairman of AUR’s National Council. To Russian propaganda, Târziu’s statement is solid gold.
The Russian State Duma is planning to seize the assets of people distributing “war-related fake news”. The new law is in fact meant to silence anyone criticizing Putin’s regime.
Maia Sandu is preparing the Republic of Moldova for war with Russia, according to a false narrative recently taken over in Tiraspol and promoted by the Russian state press.
Chișinău is strengthening its army in the context of Russia’s hybrid war against the Republic of Moldova, the Moldovan Defense Minister said. In an interview to Veridica, Anatolie Nosatîi also referred to military cooperation with the EU, NATO and Romania.
Chisinău is setting up an anti-propaganda institution in order to disinform, says the former president Igor Dodon, according to whom Russia is not spreading any propaganda in Moldova.
The EU civilian mission in Chisinau aims to push the Republic of Moldova towards a confrontation with Moscow, says the Russian MFA. In fact, the aim is to strengthen Moldova's resilience to security threats.
Russia does not get involved in the internal affairs of the Republic of Moldova, said the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry. The narrative is denied by Moscow’s very actions in the past 30 years.
Russia is involved in a hybrid war against the Republic of Moldova, says the Moldovan Interior Minister, Ana Revenco. In an interview to Veridica, Minister Revenco also said that, in spite of facing the greatest security challenges since the war in Transnistria, the Republic of Moldova also benefits from the West’s endorsement, which has conveyed a clear message to Russia regarding the “red lines” it shouldn’t cross with respect to Chișinău.
Maia Sandu has called a pro-European rally, patterned on the Great National Assemblies that culminated in 1991 with the Republic of Moldova proclaiming its independence. The decision was announced in the context where Moscow and pro-Russian forces in Chișinău have ramped up pressure on the pro-European government. It’s a risky bet, which Moldova will win only if the rally enjoys a turnout similar to public gatherings of the 1990s.
The government in Chișinău is backing anti-Russian hysteria, whereas the Ukrainian army is responsible for war crimes, are two of the messages conveyed by the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova. The Russian official commented on a speech by Moldova’s president, Maia Sandu, where the president referred to the Russian dangers and threats in the context of the war in Ukraine.
From disinformation spread by propaganda regarding the imminence of a war in Transnistria, Russia has now moved to official statements about Ukraine’s plans to invade the separatist region of the Republic of Moldova. Transnistria seems to be used to draw attention away from Russia’s plan to destabilize Moldova, as well as from the defeats sustained in Ukraine. Besides, the pro-Russian opposition in Chișinău could take advantage of the panic induced by the prospect of war.
The Government in Chisinau imposes sanctions and uses repression against the Russian media, at the behest of the West, writes rubaltic.ru, a Russia-affiliated media outlet, recently banned in the Republic of Moldova . It resumes older narratives of Russian and pro-Russian propaganda, meant to undermine Chisinau's efforts to protect the information space from disinformation campaigns designed to undermine the pro-European governance, all the more dangerous for security as Russia appears to be engaged in a hybrid war against the Republic of Moldova.
According to the Moldovan president, the Russian plan involves para-military units of foreign fighters, in civilian clothes, which would have attacked state institutions and taken hostages, the actions being masked by protests of the pro-Russian opposition.
The latest developments in Chisinau suggest that the Republic of Moldova seems to have become the target of a hybrid war launched by the Russian Federation to topple the current pro-European power and bring that state back into Moscow's sphere of influence. The authorities in Chisinau are forced to face an unprecedented energy crisis, successive increases in the prices of the most important products and services, but also protests organized by parties believed to be backed by the secret services in Moscow. Adding to these challenges is the deepening security crisis as a result of the war in Ukraine, particularly the missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in recent weeks.
Despite the fact that during the last eight years the Russian propaganda has targeted mainly Ukraine, Kremlin did not forget the Baltic States and Latvia. On the one hand Latvia itself was targeted, on the other propaganda and disinformation about Ukraine and NATO were promoted as well.
The Pro-Kremlin media in Russia and in the self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine have launched a series of false narratives about the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Donbass, which was allegedly staged by Kiev to “justify” its attacks on Russian-speakers.