Moldova’s president has delivered an emergency video address to the nation. Maia Sandu warns of a direct threat to the country’s sovereignty and independence from Russia. She said that if Vladimir Putin’s destabilisation plan succeeds, the ex-Soviet Union country may be used as a launchpad for an invasion of its neighbour, Ukraine, and its Odesa Oblast.
“Today I can say with full confidence that the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and European future of our country are under threat,” Ms Sandu said. “The Kremlin is spending hundreds of millions of euros to buy hundreds of thousands of votes on both banks of the Dniester River and abroad.” She went on to say that Moldovans are being subjected to “intoxication with dozens of false messages” on a daily basis, while “hundreds of people are being paid to provoke chaos, violence and intimidate society”.
The Moldovan leader went on to outline the catastrophic consequences that will await the country if Russia’s plan succeeds.
“If Russia gains control over Moldova, the consequences will be immediate and will threaten our country and the entire region. All Moldovans will suffer, regardless of who they voted for.
“Europe will stop at Moldova’s border. Freedom of movement may end and our land could become a launchpad for penetration into Odesa Oblast.
“The Transnistrian region will be destabilised. These are their plans and they’re not hiding them.”
Ms Sandu stressed that the Kremlin has accomplices in Moldova who are “ready to sell even their own country for money”: “They do not believe in Russia, nor in Europe – only in money,” she said, calling on citizens to resist these forces’ attempts to take back power.
The video address appeared shortly after Moldovan law enforcement conducted over 250 searches and detained 74 suspects accused of organising mass unrest ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for September 28. Weapons, ammunition, tents, camouflage clothing and passports were seized during the searches.
According to the investigation, a group of individuals regularly travelled to Serbia for training aimed at destabilising the situation in Moldova. There, they were trained, in particular, to handle firearms and special equipment.
Moldova was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Ottoman Empire in 1812, when it became known as Bessarabia. In February 1918, it declared independence and then integrated into Romania later that year following a vote of its assembly. The decision was disputed by Soviet Russia, which established in 1924 a so-called Moldavian autonomous republic. After the dissolution of the USSR, the Moldovan SSR declared independence and took the name Moldova. Moldova is the second poorest country in Europe by GDP per official capita after Ukraine.
