Moldovan President Maia Sandu accused Russia on Monday of planning to use “spoilers” to destabilize the former Soviet republic, echoing a claim made days earlier by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In a speech on the presidential website, Sandu said Zelensky’s statement “regarding the plans of the Russian Federation to destabilize the Republic of Moldova have been confirmed by our institutions.”
“Russia’s plan to carry out subversive actions on the territory of our state is not new,” he said. “Last fall there were also attempts to destabilize the situation and undermine the state, but they failed to achieve their goal thanks to the rapid intervention of our public order and security agencies.”
Sandu added that last fall, in anticipation of an energy crisis, “a series of actions were planned involving saboteurs who had received military training and disguised themselves as civilians to carry out violent actions, attacks on government buildings and takeovers.” hostages”.
Sandu also claimed that individuals disguised as “the so-called opposition” were going to try to force a change of power in Chisinau through “violent actions”.
CNN cannot independently verify these claims.
On Thursday, Zelensky claimed that Ukrainian intelligence services intercepted a Russian plan to destabilize Moldova.
The next day, the Moldovan prime minister and her cabinet resigned, hours following a Russian cruise missile crossed the country’s territory. The Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador over what he said was an “unacceptable violation of our airspace by a Russian missile.”
CNN has contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment on Sandu and Zelensky’s allegations.
a bit of context: The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to the emergence of a pro-Moscow de facto breakaway state along Moldova’s border with Ukraine known as Transnistria. Unrecognized by the international community, this 3,400-square-kilometre enclave has hosted thousands of Russian troops and its economy is heavily dependent on Russian subsidies.
Concern over Russia’s long-term plans for Transnistria has only intensified following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February.
