The EU wants to occupy Moldova with the help of NATO troops after the parliamentary election, and Maia Sandu is involved in this plan and will request the sending of foreign troops, according to a disinformation narrative promoted by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.
NEWS: The European Union plans to occupy the Republic of Moldova with the help of NATO troops, regardless of the outcome of the parliamentary election in this country”, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service stated.
"Brussels has no intention of abandoning its plans to occupy Moldova even if the developments shortly after the election do not require an external intervention. Troops are to be deployed at a later stage. In order to create a pretext, Moldova will stage armed provocations against Transnistria and the Russian troops stationed in the region. The election for the Supreme Soviet in Tiraspol on November 30 next year is being considered as a possible deadline”, the statement read.
According to the same message:
- at present, NATO member states are building up their military presence near the Moldovan borders;
- the European Union is preparing an “airdrop” in the Odessa region, to intimidate Transnistria, and the first groups of professional soldiers from France and Great Britain have already arrived in Odessa;
- European officials fear that the widespread vote fraud, prepared by Brussels and Chișinău, will prompt Moldovan citizens to take to the streets to defend their rights;
- if that should be the case, at the request of president Maia Sandu, the armed forces of European states would force Moldovans to accept a dictatorship under the guise of “Eurodemocracy”.
NARRATIVES: 1. The EU and NATO are preparing the military occupation of Moldova. 2. France and Great Britain have sent troops to Odessa as a preliminary step to a military operation.
PURPOSE: To fuel fear of Western aggression. To discredit the EU and NATO, by presenting them as belligerent and vindictive. To undermine confidence in the election and to present the leadership in Chișinău as traitors to national interests. To pave the way for contesting the election results and for justifying any possible disturbances orchestrated by (pro)Russian elements in Chișinău.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The very structure of the story thrown on the market by the SVR shows that it is false. Basically, it mixes a series of countries and structures that have been circulated in the false narratives promoted by the Russian Federation (or entities with a similar discourse, often related to it) to scare the public in recent years, both in the Republic of Moldova and in ex-Soviet space and beyond: the EU, NATO, France and Great Britain, Romania. The European Union and NATO are two different organizations, even if some countries are members of both organizations. The EU cannot dictate NATO's military policy or use the forces and structures of the Alliance, whose number one military power is, in fact, the USA. Great Britain and France are among the most vocal supporters of Ukraine and have expressed their willingness to send troops to its territory, but there is no separate military alliance between them (they are both members of NATO), while Great Britain is no longer a member of the EU.
This is not the first time the SVR has launched such accusations and narratives. In December 2024, Veridica debunked similar false narratives, stating that they were most likely targeting the 2025 parliamentary election in the Republic of Moldova.
Veridica has also recently debunked another similar false narrative, launched by Russian propaganda via a Tiraspol MP, who claimed that France and Britain were planning to take control of Ukraine's Black Sea regions.
Like many other disinformation stories, this points to a broad propaganda and hybrid warfare campaign aimed at influencing voters as well as the results of the upcoming election in the Republic of Moldova, with the aim of taking political control of this state both to divert its European path and in the context of the war in Ukraine.
There is absolutely no evidence confirming that NATO is planning to attack Odesa. Moreover, such an action wouldn’t make sense, given that most NATO states provide financial assistance to Ukraine, in addition to weapons and other equipment to help it defend itself against the Russian invasion. NATO’s goal is to strengthen Ukraine, and an attack on Odesa would effectively take the country out of the war and make it an easy prey for Russia. Furthermore, NATO is not seeking a conflict with Russia – it is a defensive alliance that seeks only to protect its member states. Only a few thousand soldiers from other NATO countries have been deployed to Romania with the aim of strengthening the defense of the Alliance’s eastern flank. An invasion force would have to be much larger and better equipped. Veridica has also previously debunked a false narrative claiming that tens of thousands of NATO soldiers have been deployed on Romanian territory.
There is also no evidence of any intention from the EU/NATO to occupy the Republic of Moldova through military force.
BACKGROUND: The press release published by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) was released one week ahead of the parliamentary election in the Republic of Moldova. The election campaign was marked by numerous allegations, coming from both Chișinău and abroad, about an unprecedented interference by Moscow, in an attempt to bring to power pro-Kremlin forces, hostile to its Westernization and integration into the European Union.
According to opinion polls, the votes will be divided between the current pro-presidential and pro-European ruling party, Action and Solidarity Party, and three other parties that could create a Moscow-controlled coalition.
The ballot follows the presidential elections and a referendum on European integration organized in October 2024, when state authorities, as well as journalistic investigations, exposed electoral fraud schemes and Russian interference, involving controversial politicians with the aim of buying votes.
President Maia Sandu addressed the European Parliament on September 9, speaking about her country's European aspirations, but also about Russian interference in political life and the election campaign. The next day, the European Parliament adopted a resolution criticizing the intensification of hybrid operations and Russia's attempted interference ahead of the parliamentary election in the Republic of Moldova, but also speaking out in favor of intensifying the process of European integration of this state.
The SVR statement comes a day after president Maia Sandu warned about Russia's subversive actions in the context of the election in the Republic of Moldova, but also after law enforcement agencies announced it had conducted hundreds of raids and detained dozens of people who were allegedly preparing destabilization actions.
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