Russian assets planning a coup in Moldova, US intelligence says
Flag of Moldova (Photo:REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo)
Agents of Russian influence in Moldova are planning to organize protests in the country, hoping to topple the government and ultimately install pro-Russian political leadership, CNN reported on march 10, citing sources in the U.S. intelligence community.
According to White House National Security spokesman John Kirby, Moscow is attempting to weaken Moldova’s pro-Western government and is spreading misinformation about the situation in the country. Washington also notes Russian efforts to foment dissent and anti-government demonstrations in Moldova’s capital, Chisinau.
Furthermore, the “authorities” of Russia-controlled Moldovan region Transnistria recently claimed that Ukraine is planning to invade.
At the same time, U.S. officials say they do not register indications of a direct military threat to Moldova.
On Feb. 20, Zelenskyy asserted that Moscow was considering a coup d'état in Moldova by seizing an airfield in the capital of Chisinau and then transferring its troops there. Later, Moldovan PM Dorin Recean confirmed the report. He also called for Transnistria’s demilitarization and expulsion of Russian troops from the region.
On Feb. 21, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin rescinded his decree “On measures to implement the foreign policy of the Russian Federation,” signed back in 2012, which included a pledge to “respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova.”
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