The Security and Intelligence Service (SIS) came into possession of information that a group of people is preparing to launch disinformation and manipulation campaigns in the public space with the aim of destabilizing society and regional security. State institutions would be accused of targeted actions against Ukrainian citizens occupying various positions in Ukrainian government institutions. According to SIS, among the group’s members there are also former intelligence officers, citizens of the Republic of Moldova, IPN reports.
The institution said that it goes to former intelligence officers who in different periods were dismissed for acts of corruption, misappropriation of public money, abuse of power, kidnapping of persons, unsanctioned interactions with foreign intelligence services. Also, in order to give pseudo-credibility to their actions, they intended to publish an alleged copy of a document, part of a criminal case managed by one of the specialized prosecutor’s offices.
According to SIS, the goals of the new stage of the disinformation and manipulation campaign are to compromise Moldova’s diplomatic relations, especially Moldovan-Ukrainian relations, to decrease trust and intensity of cooperation at all levels between Moldovan and Ukrainian authorities, to reduce the interoperability of ensuring regional security existing between the security, defense and law enforcement institutions of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.
“Such actions fit into the toolkit of the hybrid war waged by the Russian Federation against the Republic of Moldova, aiming to discredit the efforts of the national authorities and of every citizen of our country to preserve peace and security in the region. SIS draws attention to the fact that the frequency and scale of such events will increase in 2024-2025, targeting the reform processes, the electoral processes that will take place in the Republic of Moldova and especially the accession negotiation with the EU,” SIS noted.
