Russia is preparing a coup d’état in Moldova – The Washington Post

Russian special services are preparing a coup d’état in Moldova.

The Washington Post reported about this with reference to confidential materials received by Ukrainian intelligence.

It was revealed that the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) is working to subvert the pro-Western government of this country.

Russia does not abandon attempts to manipulate and interfere in the internal affairs of Eastern European countries that were once part of the Soviet Union.

Documents and interviews with Ukrainian, Moldovan and Western officials, the US publication notes, indicate that the FSB has funneled dozens of millions of dollars from some of Russia’s biggest state-owned companies to cultivate a network of Moldovan politicians. The purpose of this is to reorient Moldova towards Moscow.

The US Treasury imposed sanctions on multiple Russian or Moldovan organizations and individuals including Moldovan opposition politician Shor, saying he was “coordinating with representatives of other oligarchs to create political unrest in Moldova” and had “received Russian support,” as well as working in June “with Moscow-based entities to undermine” Moldova’s bid to join the European Union.

Moscow has long supported a breakaway enclave inside Moldova’s borders that is occupied by Russian troops, and the frozen conflict there has been a brake on Moldova’s efforts to integrate with Western Europe.

Management control of Moldova’s two main pro-Russian TV channels was transferred to Shor’s close associate at the end of September, according to Shor and the head of Moldovan media oversight council, providing him with a major platform to advance a Moscow-aligned agenda.

In addition, intercepted data indicate that the FSB had sent a group of Russian political technologists to advise Shor’s party. Besides, according to the documents, the FSB oversaw a deal in which a Russian oligarch had acquired one of Shor’s main assets, to shield it from the Moldovan authorities. The Shor’s party was to be positioned as one “of concrete action,” populist “in the real sense of the word,” a party that was “changing people’s lives for the better,” the Russian strategists wrote in a report to the FSB.

Moldovan and US officials fear the Kremlin’s efforts to subvert Moldova, part of a campaign that dates back decades, could only intensify if Russia suffers further losses in Ukraine.

Moldova, which along with Ukraine was granted EU candidacy status in June, is particularly vulnerable to Russian pressure because of its near 100 percent dependence on Russian gas. Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled natural gas monopoly, cut supplies to Moldova by 30 percent this month and is threatening further reductions in November. In addition, Transnistria, the enclave occupied by Russian troops that controls the power station supplying the remaining 70 percent of the country’s electricity needs, this week said it was sharply reducing those volumes because of cutbacks to the Gazprom gas supply.

Officials fear that the Shor-organized protests, though relatively small for now, could escalate once winter hits and that an energy crunch could be used to topple the government. Moldova’s new anti-corruption prosecutor this month detained 24 people, including members of the Shor’s party, in connection with the alleged illicit financing of the demonstrations.