Moldovan authorities are using alleged threats from Russia to demand more money from the EU, but Chisinau is losing Brussels' support, according to narratives fueled by fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor and promoted by the Kremlin propaganda.
NEWS: tehnowar.ru: "Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who is under the control of Western curators, spoke in the European Parliament in the context of the parliamentary election campaign.
Her entire half-hour speech focused on criticizing Russia, claiming that Moscow was preventing her party from winning the elections and trying to prevent Moldova from joining the European Union.”
ria.ru: "Moldovan President Maia Sandu is using Russia as a bogeyman to demand more money from the European Union, says Ilan Shor, leader of the opposition bloc Pobeda.
"MEPs have finally woken up: they have issued a resolution stating directly that Moldova under Sandu is a black hole for European money. Sandu scares people with Russia while begging for millions from Brussels," Shor wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to him, the EU recognizes that "the circus of Russian threats" is being used as a pretext for an "ideological agenda."
"And Evghenia Guțul was sent to prison for seven years just because she doesn't dance to their tune... The number of people who understand that Sandu and her gang must be removed is growing. And growing significantly," Shor stressed.
Parliamentary elections in Moldova are scheduled for September 28.
The Moldovan authorities have resorted to repressive measures against any form of dissidence—in addition to convicting Gagauzia's Bashkan, Evghenia Guțul, criminal cases have been opened against several opposition politicians.”
[...]"With the troublesome press offering a different perspective on political events in the country than that of the authorities, the Moldovan authorities have been 'dealing with the situation' since 2023—13 television stations and dozens of websites have been shut down."
NARRATIVES: 1. Russia is just a danger invented by the authorities in Chișinău to ask for more money from the EU. 2. The European Parliament no longer supports the authorities in Chișinău.
PURPOSE: To instill the idea that Russia does not pose a threat to democratic processes in the Republic of Moldova, and that the accusations and evidence presented by the authorities in Chișinău are merely an attempt to blackmail the EU into providing more money. To promote the narrative that the government in Chișinău no longer enjoys the support of Brussels.
LOCAL CONTEXT/ETHOS: The Republic of Moldova is in the midst of an election campaign for the parliamentary elections to be held on September 28. According to polls, votes will be split between the current pro-presidential and pro-European ruling party, the Action and Solidarity Party, and three other parties that could form a Moscow-controlled coalition.
The vote comes after the presidential elections and a referendum on European integration held in October 2024, in which state authorities and journalistic investigations uncovered electoral fraud schemes and Russia's involvement, through controversial politicians, with the aim of buying voters.
On September 9, President Maia Sandu delivered a speech in the European Parliament, in which she spoke about her country's European aspirations, but also about Russia's interference in the political life and the election campaign. The following day, the European Parliament adopted a resolution criticizing Russia's intensified hybrid operations and attempts at interference ahead of the parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova, and calling for the acceleration of the country's European integration process.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: This is not the first time that Russian propaganda has attempted to deny Russia's pressure and influence in the Republic of Moldova, but it is contradicted by numerous international reports and national investigations. According to a study by the Stockholm Centre for East European Studies, hybrid attacks and propaganda against Moldova have intensified. "Moldova has faced a constant barrage of disinformation attacks from Russia. These attacks have increased substantially since 2022," according to the study.
Russian propaganda became even more aggressive during the campaign for the October 2024 referendum and presidential elections, and recently, The Insider has exposed the launch of a large-scale aggressive campaign targeting Moldova in the context of the parliamentary elections.
The 2024 elections in the Republic of Moldova took place amid widespread disinformation campaigns, manipulation and even vote buying , as revealed by several journalistic investigations, as well as inquiries and raids organized by law enforcement agencies. The Kremlin is believed to have been behind these activities, with the main intermediary being the fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for large-scale bank fraud in 2014 and who also formed a party alliance called the Victory Bloc.
The presidential election and referendum took place in a context where the government faced threats to national security resulting from the war caused by the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine. Law enforcement authorities, numerous international actors, and civil society have proclaimed that Moldova is the target of an ongoing hybrid war, directed from abroad, which includes various forms of manipulative interference to destabilize the country, illicit financing of political actors, disinformation campaigns, and cyberattacks," according to the preliminary conclusions of the International Election Observation Mission, which included representatives of the European Parliament, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe.
The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (CALC), a network of national non-governmental organizations with expertise in the electoral field, also expressed in a statement its "deep concern over the unprecedented scale of external interference, especially from the Russian Federation, which has negatively influenced the electoral process in the Republic of Moldova.
At the same time, Chișinău claims that Russia's interference in the parliamentary elections is even more aggressive. "The Russian Federation wants to control the Republic of Moldova starting this fall and is preparing unprecedented interference in the September elections. The risks to public order and national security are high, and all institutions, as well as society as a whole, must be aware of the danger and protect ourselves from it," Maia Sandu said on July 30 after a meeting of the Supreme Security Council , which discussed actions to combat information manipulation and foreign interference in the electoral process.
According to Maia Sandu, the Kremlin is investing in several political parties to get its people into the next parliament, with the aim of gaining control over power in the Republic of Moldova. The institutions in Chișinău claim to have identified 10 main instruments of interference in Moldova's political and electoral processes and that financing of around 100 million Euro is planned through cryptocurrencies alone. Other tools include foreign information manipulation campaigns, paid protests, cyber-attacks, the use of the church, etc.
Shortly after the SSC meeting, the police announced that they were investigating a new form of electoral financing and corruption, managed from the Russian Federation, through the #TAITO application. People are promised tens of thousands of Moldovan lei per month to participate in illegal actions, protests, and support for a particular candidate in the elections. The chat application is accessed on Telegram, and upon registration, individuals are asked to provide photos of their identity documents, phone number, and videos of their face for authentication.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Russian and pro-Russian propaganda has launched several narratives regarding the influence or even control of the West over the authorities in Chisinau. One theme used in this context is the establishment of a so-called authoritarian regime in Chișinău, supported by a West that uses democratic principles only to achieve its goals, without believing in them. Veridica has previously debunked this type of narrative.
Regarding the narrative that the European Parliament no longer supports the Republic of Moldova, there was indeed a draft motion submitted by several MEPs from the radical right-wing fringe group "Europe of Sovereign Nations," calling for the suspension of assistance to the Republic of Moldova. but the EP approved by a large majority the motion supporting the Republic of Moldova and condemning Russia's interference.
