Tense situation in Chișinău

Authorities in Chişinău have announced the dismantling of a network coordinated from Moscow whose aim was to destabilize the situation in the Republic of Moldova

Corina Cristea, 13.03.2023, 13:50

Part of Moscow’s sphere
of influence not long ago, the Republic of Moldova is being presently ruled by
authorities firmly oriented towards the country’s European integration.

Protest actions, which
have invoked social aspects such as poverty or the latest price hikes, have
been directed against these pro-European authorities for months now. However,
the aforementioned protest actions aren’t large-scale events, involving the
participation of a large number of people, but according to investigators,
those involved do not believe in the principles they sustain, but are actually paid.

The money they get is
suspected to have been provided by the party of the controversial pro-Russian
oligarch, Ilan Shor, who in 2017 got a 7 years-and-a-half prison sentence for
fraud and money-laundering and is allegedly hiding in Israel.

Several suchlike meetings
have been staged since last autumn, and the latest took place on Sunday, the
day when the authorities in Chisinau announced they had dismantled a network
coordinated from Moscow, whose aim was to destabilize the situation in the
Republic of Moldova. The network consisted of 10 groups of up to 10 people, who
were supposed to create chaos during the protest rallies held in Chisinau
during the weekend. The groups were coordinated by a representative of the
special services from the Russian Federation and got orders through people with
double citizenship, Russian and Moldovan. The head of the General Police
Commissioners’ Office in the Republic, Viorel Cernăuţeanu, presented several
video and audio recordings as well as fragments of correspondence in an attempt
to prove the involvement of Russian nationals in the process of destabilizing the
mass demonstrations in Chişinău. 25 suspects have been questioned and seven
detained. According to Cernăuţeanu, there is a direct connection between Moscow
coordinators, the Russian private military company Wagner and the
recently-dismantled network. Only a day before the Sunday’s protests, the
anti-corruption prosecutors in Chişinău announced that following the searches
conducted at the headquarters of Shor’s party, the equivalent in local currency
of 230 thousand euros have been sized, money for paying the protesters. The
searches have been conducted in several localities and at the houses of those suspected
of being involved in actions aimed at destabilizing the political situation in
the Republic of Moldova and instating of a pro-Russia government.

During the searches,
policemen have also discovered handcuffs, marijuana-based substances,
communication and data-storage devices.

Those under investigation
are men with ages between 23 and 50, who had previously served various court
sentences. Some of these have recently returned from Turkey, where, according
to the Moldovan secret services, were trained how to oppose the riot police and
use pyrotechnical materials and weapons during the protest rallies. The
aforementioned investigations have been carried out amid the latest allegations
from Washington that Moscow has been trying to destabilize the Republic of
Moldova with a view to instating a more Russian-friendly administration.

(bill)