The Republic of Moldova is mortgaging its land to secure European loans and has been turned into a military training ground for NATO, the organisation that intends to open a second front against Russia on its territory, claims a Moscow MP affiliated with the fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor.
NEWS: State Duma Deputy Alyona Arshinova, in a conversation with Life.ru during SPIEF-2026 (the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum), described the situation in the Republic of Moldova as catastrophic, both economically and politically. According to her, Maia Sandu’s regime is severing the alliance ties with Russia, built over decades, to the detriment of its own businesses and farmers, and the benefits promised by the European Union will remain just promises, just as was the case with Ukraine.
“In fact, Moldova’s economy is beginning to rely solely on European loans, secured against the Republic of Moldova’s land; that is, everything the country possesses. Approximately 400,000 citizens have left the country recently and are trying to obtain any citizenship other than that of their own country in order to somehow survive.”
The MP accused the government in Chișinău of inciting civil war within the country and attempting an “Anschluss”—that is, annexation to Romania. Sandu is rewriting history, claiming that Moldova never existed as an independent state, even though it achieved sovereignty before Romania did. In her view, this is political suicide and a renunciation of independence, beneficial only to Brussels, which would effectively control the republic.
[...]The MP is particularly concerned about the situation surrounding Transnistria. Arshinova spoke of an agreement reached between Maia Sandu and Volodymyr Zelenskyy—according to which the regime in Kyiv would be ready to provide any support, including military aid, to resolve the Transnistrian issue. Russian peacekeeping forces, stationed there under an international mandate, would already have been declared persona non grata. The MP noted that the region is home to the largest weapons depot in Europe.
In the deputy’s view, NATO countries are attempting to open a second front against Russia in order to complicate the conduct of the “special military operation.” “The facts are clear”: 13 joint exercises between Moldova and NATO have already taken place, and the republic has reportedly been turned into a military training ground against the will of the population, while society is allegedly being prepared for a military solution to the Transnistrian issue.
NARRATIVES: 1. The Republic of Moldova is forced to cede its land to Europeans in exchange for loans. 2. The government in Chișinău is promoting the annexation of the country by Romania. 3. NATO is trying to open a second front against Russia in Moldova, and Ukraine is planning to intervene militarily in Transnistria
PURPOSE: To create the perception that the Republic of Moldova has lost its economic and political sovereignty; to instil fear and resistance toward European financial support by falsely portraying loans as a mechanism for land expropriation; to fuel suspicion and polarization within society by promoting the idea that the authorities in Chișinău are seeking the annexation of the country by Romania; to legitimize the Kremlin’s geopolitical narrative by portraying Moldova as a tool of NATO and Ukraine in an alleged plan to open a “second front” against Russia.
WHY THESE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The European Union is the Republic of Moldova’s largest external financial supporter, and in the fall of 2024 it announced the largest support package for Moldova, worth 1.9 billion euros, with two tranches already disbursed.
Other financial support packages for the Republic of Moldova, worth billions of euros, have been granted to the country over the years for both budgetary support and projects in infrastructure, renewable energy, and business development, which have benefited the citizens of the Republic of Moldova.
There are no conditions attached to these loans and grants requiring the mortgaging of land or changes to legislation to allow the sale of agricultural land to citizens or companies founded by foreigners.
The claim that the authorities in Chișinău are steering things toward unification with Romania (“Anschluss,” as Arshinova puts it) is exaggerated and taken out of context. This narrative serves Russian propaganda, which has intensified recently following pro-union statements by Maia Sandu, who said she would vote for unification in a referendum but knows it would not pass, so the authorities have set a course toward European integration. Veridica wrote more about the reaction of Russian propaganda to Maia Sandu’s statements here.
Veridica has also debunked fake news regarding the alleged “rewriting of history,” including the claim that history textbooks are being rewritten to justify a confrontation with Russia.
The claim that a second front against Russia is being opened in the Republic of Moldova defies all logic, since the two countries do not share a border. If any connection is drawn to potential military actions in the Transnistrian region, on the one hand it must be noted that the authorities in Chișinău have consistently ruled out this scenario; but even if, hypothetically, we were to assume it could occur, it would take place on the sovereign territory of the Republic of Moldova. Russia’s involvement would amount to nothing more than yet another military intervention by Russia against another state. Veridica has also debunked false claims that Chisinau is accused of seeking to annex Transnistria and integrate it into Romania or that NATO is preparing an attack on Transnistria at Chisinau’s request.
There is no agreement between Chișinău and Kyiv regarding the provision of military support concerning the Transnistrian region.
And the claim that 400,000 Moldovans have left the country and are seeking citizenship elsewhere is inaccurate. It is true that the latest available statistical data show that between 2022 and 2024 (during the PAS government), nearly 500,000 emigrants were recorded. On the other hand, approximately 380,000 people returned to the country, so the net difference was actually about 113,000 people. In fact, similar figures were recorded in the years before the PAS government. Between 2016 and 2018, the total difference was over 130,000. The only notable exception was 2020, when the pandemic crisis reduced the movement of people.
LOCAL CONTEXT/ETHOS: The Republic of Moldova is in the process of joining the European Union, a process that gained momentum in 2022 when, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it submitted its application for membership, at the same time as Ukraine and Georgia. Accession negotiations began in the summer of 2024. On October 20, 2024, a referendum on European integration was held, which passed by a narrow margin, and provisions to that effect were subsequently incorporated into the Constitution. The first accession negotiations are scheduled to officially begin next week. However, some compact regions such as the Gagauz Autonomous Region, as well as certain segments of the population such as Russian-speaking minorities—who are vulnerable to Russian propaganda—oppose European integration. This option is also promoted by some pro-Russian political groups, primarily those controlled by the fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, but also—albeit less openly—by the Party of Socialists, led by the former pro-Moscow president, Igor Dodon.
The issue of agricultural land and the possibility of selling it to foreign citizens is a sensitive one in the Republic of Moldova, even though there is a great deal of land in the country that is either uncultivated or poorly cultivated due to a lack of investment. This is one of the recurring themes of false narratives, particularly during election campaigns. Veridica has debunked similar narratives over the years, starting with the 2021 early parliamentary elections, when propaganda warned that “if PAS wins, Moldova will be sold to foreigners.” And two years later, a new wave of disinformation related to the alleged drafting of a law to that effect was debunked. The topic, along with other false narratives debunked by Veridica, was brought up again during the 2024 elections. The issue was brought to the forefront following misinterpreted statements by the then-head of the EU delegation, Janis Mazeiks, and, although denials and analyses proving the contrary were presented, it accompanied the entire campaign, as well as the campaign for the second round of the presidential election.
Alyona Arshinova is a member of the Russian State Duma and the president of the ANO Eurasia (founded by fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election and constitutional referendum, and involved in several propaganda campaigns, including those targeting children).
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