After landing at Chișinău International Airport in early February, two Russian secret service agents, who were allegedly operating under the cover of the Lukoil company, were declared undesirable in the Republic of Moldova for five years, according to the IPN news agency.
The information was confirmed to the Agency by at least two sources connected to Chișinău International Airport and law enforcement structures. The sources claim that following the incident, some political actors in the country insist that Lukoil's operations in Moldova be reviewed by the Strategic Investment Council and that "a decision be made to remove Russian capital from Moldova."
How they arrived in Moldova
The two allegedly entered the Republic of Moldova from Romania, where they had also been declared undesirable, according to a journalistic investigation by Newsweek.ro published on Monday, February 24.
The investigation reveals a counterintelligence operation in which two Russian agents were stopped while attempting to spy in Romania under the cover of Lukoil.
The report unveils how the two tried to use the Russian company Lukoil to mask their true mission.
Newsweek also publishes the names of these two employees. One of them is Kirill Shliakhov, who made another attempt to enter Romania on February 22.
The Romanian publication states that Shliakhov, 51, is already a military retiree. He holds the rank of reserve colonel in the GRU, the special intelligence service of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
After retiring, Shliakhov was immediately integrated into Lukoil's security structure, the second-largest Russian energy company after Gazprom.
Turned back two days ago by Romanian authorities, Shliakhov had previously been in Bucharest earlier this month. He arrived then accompanied by Russian citizen Sergei Markov.
Markov was also a GRU officer. Both Markov and Shliakhov report to Vadim Pyatiletov, who heads Lukoil's security department. Pyatiletov is a retired general and former head of the FSB office in the Tyumen region. According to Newsweek, he coordinates agents in the countries where Lukoil operates, including Romania.
The official reason for the refusal, provided by the Romanian authorities, was "involvement in activities that do not comply with the purpose of the visit." The cited source explains that this wording is a bureaucratic euphemism for espionage activities.
