Russia doesn’t recognize Kosovo as a sovereign state, but it’s using it to endorse the “independence” of separatist/captured territories in Georgia and Ukraine: Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Crimea and Donbas. Besides, the Serbian enclave in Kosovo, Mitrovica, can be used by Moscow as a genuine outpost on the border with a NATO-protected territory. Just like other “outposts” Putin is relying on in Europe, Mitrovica too can be useful when Moscow wants to get something done or simply wants to distract everyone’s attention – even from a war such as the one in Ukraine.
The United States wants a nuclear disaster to happen at the Zaporizhzhia NPP in order to wipe out any evidence of their biological weapons labs, reads a false narrative disseminated by the Russian government media. In fact, no Western state wants to see a nuclear incident, all the more so as it might have a powerful global impact, whereas the laboratories manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine are a fabrication of Russian propaganda.
Sharing a 1000-kilometer long border with Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova has been affected by the war started by Russia on February 24 too. Veridica has spoken with several analysts in Chisinau to learn more about the main problems facing the Republic of Moldova, a state that is simultaneously facing an economic and an energy crisis, while at the same time trying to deal with a significant number of Ukrainian refugees.
After ousted PM Kiril Petkov’s coalition was adamant in its pro-West and pro-EU position, current interim government, selected by President Radev and led by caretaker PM Donev, is making chaotic moves, risking further instability.
Before the war started, the Russian army was already in a tight spot, as a serviceman fighting in Ukraine revealed. The topic is discussed at length by the Russian independent media, which also writes about “Putin’s chef”, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is also in charge of the Wagner mercenary outfit, recruiting criminals, including murders, from Russian prisons. Another issue discussed by the Russian independent media is that of Western combat equipment used by the Russian army, considering the Russian military industry lacks the necessary technology.
By joining NATO, Finland and Sweden would make the Alliance the main power in the Baltic Sea. Together, the two countries boast efficient and highly trained air, sea and ground forces, a good defense industry, and quick response capabilities. They occupy strategic position. And they would greatly consolidate the security of NATO’s most vulnerable member states – the Baltic countries.
The pro-European government in Chisinau is censoring the press and getting rid of inconvenient media, according to a false narrative promoted by the Russian Foreign Ministry. The narrative is used by politnavigator.net and taken over by news-front.ru to justify possible response measures from Moscow.
The European track of the Republic of Moldova involves a break with its recent past, when the country was virtually at the mercy of highly influential oligarchs, who used their political leverage and media influence to create a genuine kleptocracy. One solution would be to apply the model employed by Ukraine, a country that passed a anti-oligarchic law.
Putin's objective to bring the neighboring country back into Moscow's orbit and into the so-called “Russian world” seems, more than ever, doomed to failure: Ukrainians no longer believe in the possibility of a reconciliation with Russia even after the fall of the Putin regime. The majority of Ukraine's population now wants European integration, but does not seem willing to accept all the EU's conditions.
Urban legends about Ukrainians and the war in Ukraine end up being used as war propaganda by Moscow, the Russian independent media writes, also proving why the Amnesty International report criticizing Ukraine manipulates and misinforms public opinion and how the Putin regime is using nuclear weapons as a threat.
Natalia Gavriliță’s Cabinet, supported by the majority made up of Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) MPs, has in the last year constantly navigated a number of unprecedented crises, a record-high inflation of some 32%, but it also grabbed the biggest victory since 1991 - obtaining EU candidate status.
The population of the Republic of Moldova would have been illiterate, forced to serve Romanians, had its territory remained part of Romania, reads a false narrative launched by a pro-Russian publication. The narrative was launched after a settlement in the Republic of Moldova commemorated the Romanian servicemen killed in World War II.
The Republic of Moldova will call on Romania for help in case Russia attacks, and this will lead to Moldova being annexed by Romania, topwar.ru writes. Much like other Russian publications, topwar.ru is misquoting the statements made in Bucharest by president Maia Sandu, and interprets them as the announcement of an anti-Russian alliance.
Ukraine could cause a nuclear disaster if it keeps bombing the Zaporizhzhia power plant as ordered by the US, according to a propaganda narrative released by Russia's Foreign Ministry and distributed by the state media. In reality, Russia is placing weapons and military equipment on the plant’s site, endangering the nuclear security of Europe.
With NATO-Russia relations at their lowest level in history, following the latter’s invasion of Ukraine, a stretch of land connecting Poland to Lithuania has come into focus. The Suwałki Gap borders Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave. It could be a tempting target, as its control would help Russia cut NATO’s land bridge to its Baltic members. It could also be used, this time by the Alliance, to further isolate Kaliningrad. Is the Suwałki Gap the powder keg between NATO and Russia?
The war in Ukraine brought back into focus an issue that had been known for a long time: Europe’s dependence on Russian gas. First, the possibility of European sanctions was raised, then Moscow reduced supplies, which caused panic in some Western capitals. What can Europeans do to escape Russian blackmail and how much should they fear the coming winter?
The Russian state press has taken out of context a statement by the former US Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, and have disseminated a propaganda narrative, according to which American scholars support Putin's ideas about Ukraine. In reality, McFaul presented several opinion trends from the US and around the world on the history of Ukraine, and not on the current Russian-Ukrainian war.
Romania will receive lots of African and Asians fleeing the Russian invasion in Ukraine, and Romanian authorities keep their nationality secret.
Over the past two decades, Moldovan wines have become one of the key elements in the geopolitical war between Chisinau and Moscow, but also a symbol of Moldova's attempt to escape the Russian influence.
The Russian independent press reports that Russian doctors, teachers, civil servants and builders are being sent to the occupied territories of Ukraine to prepare “the union with Russia”. Meanwhile, Western sanctions are hitting the Russian economy and the well-being of the population, experts say. President Putin, however, continues to blackmail Europe with cold in the winter and famine.
The security context and the political will in Chisinau were the main valid arguments used by Romanian diplomacy in supporting the Republic of Moldova on its European path. The Republic of Moldova managed, in less than four months, from March 3rd till June 23rd, to shift from the status of country that officially applied for EU membership to that of candidate country. By comparison, the Western Balkan states received a clear European perspective from Brussels 19 years after the EU Thessaloniki Summit in 2003.
Russia’s campaign in Russia is doubled by an information war, which among other things seeks to discourage Ukrainian resistance. Kyiv is trying to respond to this campaign, on the one hand to demoralize the enemy as well, while on the other hand to enliven Ukrainians’ fighting spirit. The protracted war, however, has prompted Ukrainian leaders to adapt their discourse.
The leadership of the Kharkiv Oblast will support the inhabitants who have called in rather large numbers for the unification with the Russian Federation, the Russian government media writes. In fact, over 85% of the inhabitants of Eastern Ukraine have condemned the Russian aggression, and the people cited by Moscow media do not represent the legitimate authorities of Ukraine.
A country of strategic importance but not indispensable, involved in the war effort despite keeping its distance, Romania cannot congratulate itself enough in official discourse for having long foreseen the aggressive plans of Putin’s Russia. As usual, Romanian officials contend themselves with the dangerous illusion that nothing should be changed in their approach to the territory that separates Bucharest from Moscow.
EU and NATO member Bulgaria, once Moscow’s closest satellite, has been moving away for years, albeit at a slow pace, from Russia’s pull. This process has been accelerated following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the Kremlin can still count on an array of friendly politicians, spies, and a disinformation and propaganda network to further its interests in Sofia.
At the 1997 NATO Summit in Madrid, the Alliance kicked off its eastward enlargement process by integrating ex-communist countries that used this opportunity to make sure they would never again fall under Russia’s control. A quarter of a century later, also in Madrid, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization launched a new strategic concept, taking note of Moscow’s aggressions and threats.
Every day, Russian citizens learn from news segments about the victories reported by the Russian army on the Ukrainian front. Even when troops are retreating or conquering a few small villages despite sustaining heavy losses, the Ministry of Defense spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, invokes resounding achievements. A PROEKT.MEDIA investigation reveals that many such achievements are in fact mathematical and geographical falsehoods.
The regional context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has inevitably led to a change in NATO's Strategic Concept. Accents have changed, and Russia has turned from a strategic partner of NATO into a “direct threat” to the security of the member states of the Alliance, as well as to some of their neighbors, including the Republic of Moldova.
The Republic of Moldova will enter a profound crisis if it joins the European Union and anti-Russian sanctions, the Russian official news agency and the Moldovan fugitive oligarch, Ilan Shor, claim. The issue of anti-Russian sanctions exploited by Russian propaganda and Russia’s agents of influence is one of the recurrent threats Kremlin uses to pressure Chișinău.
In theory, Romania is not overly reliant on Russia in economic terms. Trade relations are limited, the number of Russian companies operating on the Romanian market is relatively small, and Romanian imports of oil and gas from Russia are incomparably lower compared to those of other EU countries. Over the years, however, Russian oligarchs, most of whom are connected to the Kremlin, have taken possession of huge chunks of certain sectors of the Romanian economy. Adding to these economic levers are political ones too – there are Romanians who, consciously or not, are playing into Moscow’s hands. It’s a strategy Russia has been applying ever since the 1990s in most ex-communist states.
Vladimir Soloviov is a Russian journalist based in the Republic of Moldova. He writes for Kommersant. Veridica spoke with Mr. Soloviov in Chisinau about the political developments in the Republic of Moldova, Russia’s imperial claims and the war in Ukraine, but also about the almost non-existent relationship between Russia and Romania.
According to narratives launched by pro-Russian politicians in Chisinau and officials in Moscow, the European Union offers the status of accession candidate using Russophobia as a criterion and, together with NATO, is building a war coalition against Russia. Such narratives have appeared in the context in which the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine received the status of candidate countries for EU accession.