The Kremlin is trying to destabilize the situation in Moldova through multiple forms of hybrid warfare, including by spreading propaganda and supporting pro-Russian parties acting in the interests of Moscow, says historian Sergey Erlikh.

According to Erlikh, both in Ukraine and in Moldova, pushes the narrative that it was NATO’s fault that the war in Ukraine broke out.

“I don’t think that Moldova is really in the center of attention of the Russian Foreign Ministry and Russian propaganda, but it is a peripheral interest, because Moldova neighbors Ukraine. In addition, we have the Transnistrian region, which some consider Russian land. It is clear that there are elements of propaganda, it is an old approach to accuse a politician of working for a foreign state, as Maria Zakharova frequently announces that Maia Sandu holds the citizenship of another state. Russian propaganda goes further and says that the war is not with Ukraine, but with NATO. Now the stakes of wars have changed. They are more of an economic order. Vladimir Putin, however, remained with the mentality of the Second World War, when the fight was for territories. What Russia is to do with so many territories when it’s already ginormous?”, said the historian Sergey Erlikh during the Территория свободы show.

According to him, in Moldova, Russia is betting on the parties controlled by Ilan Shor.

“Many forms of Russian propaganda are observed in Moldova. We have the parties controlled by Shor, and it is clear that the financing of these parties exceeds Shor’s financial capabilities. It is clear that the money does not come from Washington or the European Union. We cannot say with certainty, but there are suspicions that the money comes from Moscow”, said Sergey Erlikh.