Russia preparing to interfere in elections in Moldova – CCD

The aggressor country russia has developed a multi-level plan to influence the parliamentary elections in Moldova, which are scheduled for September 28. The russians' goal is to disrupt the country's course towards joining the European Union, discredit Moldovan President Maia Sandu, and also strengthen the positions of pro-russian forces. This is stated in a report by the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

According to the CCD, the russians' strategy includes recruiting voters from the diaspora, financing street protests, and large-scale disinformation campaigns on social networks.

"They plan to involve representatives of sports clubs and criminal groups for provocations, and to use fabricated "compromise" to pressure officials. The Moldovan police have already blocked hundreds of accounts that were supposed to be used to interfere in the elections, and have also discovered millions of lei in cash intended for bribing voters," the CCD said.

The agency emphasized that such methods are part of a broader kremlin strategy aimed at disrupting democratic processes in neighboring countries, undermining trust in pro-Western politicians, and imposing scenarios favorable to moscow.

"In the case of Moldova, Russia seeks to turn the country into an instrument of pressure on Ukraine and the European Union," the CCD added.

The Center also previously reported that the kremlin is launching a wave of disinformation attacks against Maia Sandu - from fake "medical documents" to fabricated rumors about her personal life. These are components of a single information campaign that is intended to sow distrust in the Moldovan authorities and destabilize the country on the eve of the elections, the CCD noted.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, former Member of Parliament of Ukraine, representative of the Svoboda political party Ihor Miroshnychenko said that a year ago Kyiv could have carried out an operation to de-occupy Transnistria and thereby reduce threats from the rear, but resources were spent on an "adventurous operation in the Kursk Oblast."