Moldova faces no military threats as long as Ukraine manages to keep the Russian army away from the regions of Odesa and Mykolaiv, declared Igor Grosu. In an interview with the Romanian channel Digi24, the Moldovan Speaker claimed the Kremlin has teamed up with organized criminal groups as part of its hybrid warfare against Moldova.
According to Grosu, this hybrid warfare includes electoral corruption, disinformation and attempts to reverse Moldova’s European course.
“Ukraine is fighting for us and for all of Europe. As long as it keeps (Russians) away from Odesa, from Mykolaiv, we are safe. But the other dimension, the hybrid warfare, isn’t going anywhere. Make no mistake, the Russian Federation will continue to try to destabilize the situation in the Republic of Moldova. We managed to thwart several attempts in the local elections. One can see a change in the tactics of the Russian services: Russia has started acting blunter, cosmetics are coming off. They have teamed up with organized crime, with fugitives such as Ilan Shor, Vlad Plahotniuc and other criminals. We saw brazen attempts to corrupt voters, which involved transactions and enormous sums for our country, the involvement of television. But I think we managed to foil many of these attempts”, said Igor Grosu in the interview.
“Russia has never really accepted the loss of the former Soviet republics. In Moldova, aside from the alliance with the underworld, we see a novel tactic, involving self-styled pro-Europeans, such as the mayor of Chisinau. Once an ardent proponent of the Kremlin, he calls himself a pro-European now. And he is not the only one. We explain to the citizens that this is a hidden agenda that has nothing in common with the European integration process”, added Grosu.
On Friday, the Intelligence and Security Service said it came into possession of information about an upcoming disinformation campaign with the purpose of destabilizing Moldovan society and regional security. According to the SIS, the conspiracy targets Moldova’s diplomatic relations, in particular with Ukraine.
