At the beginning of this week, the Russian Federation launched a fake about the danger of escalation of the situation in Moldova. More precisely, in a press release, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia accused Chisinau of preparing a military operation in the Transnistrian region. According to the participants in IPN’s public debate "What do Russian fabrications bank on? What does Chisinau respond with?", the falsehood appeared in the context of Russia's hybrid war against the Republic of Moldova and poses an increased danger to the country's stability, peace and security. The experts invited to the debate analyzed the goals, target groups and expected effects of the authors of this disinformation. They also spoke about the measures that the Moldovan state and Moldovan society can take to counter such attempts to trigger major destabilization.
The permanent expert of IPN’s project Igor Boţan said that disinformation is the deliberate spreading of false information in social and traditional media with the aim of misleading public opinion in order to obtain financial or political gains. The use of the term "military operation" in such a context is meant to amplify the public's fears and confusion. The expert defined the notion of "military operation" as a set of coordinated combat interactions, accompanied by strikes and maneuvers of troops (armed forces), carried out according to a unique concept and plan for performing operational-strategic tasks in particular areas of certain countries.
The expert also noted that the notion of "hybrid warfare" denotes a form of conflict that combines elements of conventional warfare, asymmetric warfare and unconventional attacks, such as cyber-attacks, propaganda and operations of influence and interference in the internal affairs of a state. the threat to use weapons of mass destruction, joint operations involving special units and mercenaries, and large-scale disinformation maneuvers.
Referring to the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) of the Russian Federation, Igor Boţan said that this is the main foreign intelligence agency of Russia. "The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service displays its historical role as a successor to the traditions of the special services of the Soviet Union: the Cheka of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR – GPU-NKVD of the RSFSR, as well as the MGB – KGB," the permanent expert said. The activities of this service is managed by the President of the Russian Federation, to whom the director of the SVR, currently Sergei Naryshkin, reports.
The press release issued by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service refers to an alleged request by President Maia Sandu that the Kuchurgan power plant, located on the left bank of the Nistru, be taken over by military force by the Republic of Moldova. Doctor of history and political commentator Anatol Țăranu, former ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to the Russian Federation, stressed that, even if these reports were true, the question arises what would follow after such an action? According to him, it is obvious that there would be no gas or coal that would enable the plant to operate, and the staff employed by a Russian company would not accept to serve the plant under the new conditions. Despite the absurdity of this information, the Russian service tries to present it as substantiated and affirms, in an apparently serious way, that the Republic of Moldova would implement this "fantastic" plan.
"It is absolutely obvious that, behind this document, there is a plan. For the Republic of Moldova, it is important to understand what this plan is and to what extent it is, in fact, a realistic one," said Anatol Țăranu.
Security expert Gheorghe Balan, former deputy prime minister for reintegration, said that this communiqué, published on the website of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service and disseminated by the main state media channels of the Russian Federation, represents the official position of the institution. "Respectively, this was the purpose – to convey some messages for these to be disseminated as widely as possible, taken and distorted even more," said the security expert.
Gheorghe Balan noted that the document reflects Russian special services’ profound dissatisfaction with the fact that Maia Sandu is the President of the Republic of Moldova and aims to delegitimize her in the position of coagulant of society and undisputed leader of the pro-European current in the Republic of Moldova. According to this press release, the energy crisis is caused by the Moldovan authorities, which is fully untrue and the Russian authorities know this very well.
"The document also includes accusations regarding Moldovan authorities’ alleged intentions to initiate military actions and to take control over strategic objects in the Transnistrian region by force. It is a barefaced lie because the entire history of the Republic of Moldova, the national legislation, all the statements and actions of all governments, including the current one, denote the firm commitment to settle the Transnistrian conflict exclusively peacefully," he said.
"This alleged document aims to provoke the discontent of the population, to spread distorted messages so that the people consider that the blame for the possible humanitarian catastrophe in the Transnistrian region is borne by the Moldovan authorities and international partners.”
The public debate entitled "What do Russian fabrications bank on? What does Chisinau respond with?" was held as part of the project "Developing political culture through public debates". IPN Agency implements the project with support from the German "Hanns Seidel" Foundation.
