Putin Orders Military Leadership to Destroy NATO and the EU from Within — NYT

In late 2025, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin convened a briefing with military leaders and set a goal for 2026: “to dismantle NATO and the EU from within.”

This was reported by The New York Times, citing officials from both countries familiar with the details of the meeting.

According to the newspaper’s sources, Moldova plays a key role in these plans. According to representatives of Western intelligence agencies, subjugating Ukraine ranks first on Russia’s list of priorities, while establishing control over Moldova ranks second.

According to the newspaper’s sources, Moldova could serve as an ideal springboard for Russia to launch further aggression against both Ukraine and the West. They added that Putin still intends to seize territories in southern Ukraine to create a land corridor connecting Russia with Moldova.

To achieve these goals, Russia, in particular, attempted to interfere in the parliamentary elections held in Moldova on September 28, 2025—through cyberattacks, disinformation, as well as vote-buying and campaigning.

Moldovan priests were also recruited for the Kremlin’s campaign; in exchange for a thousand dollars, they were tasked with persuading parishioners to reject the referendum on Moldova’s accession to the European Union and to oppose pro-Western policies.

In addition, in the summer of 2025, the Russians organized a “training camp” in Serbia, where participants—mostly Moldovan citizens—were taught how to handle rifles, break through police cordons, and set buildings on fire.

Participants were paid $400 each to take part in the three- to four-day course. The camp’s instructors were personnel linked to Russian military intelligence (GRU). The goal of the camp was to train a group of fighters capable of interfering in elections, according to representatives of Western intelligence services.

Similar camps were organized in Bosnia and near Moscow. More than 100 young Moldovan citizens went through these camps. During their training, they were taught to manufacture and use incendiary devices and homemade explosive devices, as well as to operate drones “equipped with special devices for explosives or arson.”

After completing their training, some of the recruits were sent to the city of Banja Luka in Bosnia to carry out practical tasks—specifically, mapping the locations of administrative and government buildings and scouting potential sites for launching drones.

However, a few weeks before the vote, Moldovan police raided hundreds of homes and detained those who had undergone training at the camps, while Moldovan cybersecurity experts, with the support of Western allies, repelled the cyberattacks.

According to the investigation, the Moldovan prosecutor’s office is investigating the activities of more than 80 individuals suspected of inciting mass unrest. Twelve of them have already been formally charged. According to court records, participants were told that if she won, “war would break out in the country, just like in Ukraine.”

At least two individuals linked to these training camps are also suspected of involvement in other destabilization operations in France and Germany.