John Kirby, the White House’s National Security Council communications strategy coordinator, said on Monday that reports of an alleged Russian plot to topple the government in Chisinau were troubling and said Washington supported the government and people of Moldova, the BBC reported.

“These reports are of ‘great concern’ but ‘do not go beyond Russia’s conduct,'” John Kirby said at a press conference in response to questions from the media.

“We are categorically with the Moldovan government and the Moldovan people,” he added.

On Monday, the President of the Republic of Moldova accused Russia of plans to use foreign saboteurs to create sabotage and remove from power her pro-Western government. However, the first to speak about it was the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, who told EU leaders last week that his special services discovered such a plan and informed Chisinau. (News.ro)

Maya Sandu announces Russia’s violent plan of attacks and hostage-taking

The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, announced on Monday that Moscow has a plan to undermine the country “with the involvement of saboteurs with military training, camouflaged in civilian clothes, who will carry out violent acts, attacks on some government buildings and take hostages.”

She made a statement to the press in which she talked about Russia’s plans to remove power from Chisinau a few days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced Moscow’s plan to destroy the Republic of Moldova.

What will be Moscow’s strategy

Maia Sandu stated that the Russian plan of “subversive actions” on the territory of the Republic of Moldova is not new – there were attempts to destabilize the situation and undermine the state last fall, but they did not achieve their goal due to interference. protection of institutions and maintenance of public order. In October and December, police and the Intelligence and Security Service intervened in several cases of “organizations of criminal elements and stopped attempts at violence,” Maya Sandu said.

According to her, in the fall, the focus was on the energy crisis, which was supposed to cause great discontent among the population and lead to stormy protests.

• “The plan for the next period involves actions involving saboteurs with military training, camouflaged in civilian clothes, who will resort to forceful actions, attack individual government buildings and take hostages.
• Violent actions disguised as protests by the so-called opposition would force a change of power in Chisinau.
• The documents received from our Ukrainian partners demonstrate high-quality documentation of the locations and logistical aspects of the organization of this subversive activity. The plan also envisages the use of people from outside the country for violent actions.
• For example, the materials contain instructions on the rules of entry to the Republic of Moldova for citizens of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, Serbia and Montenegro,” said Maya Sandu.

President Maia Sandu’s statements regarding the destabilization of the situation in the Republic of Moldova certainly have serious and real support, political commentator Ion Tabarca believes in a statement for Radio Chişinău.

The expert emphasized that in the current security context, there was also a change of power in Chisinau. This was not a surprise for anyone, but even a necessity, since the appointment of the presidential security advisor Dorin Rechan to the position of prime minister took place against the background of external threats to the Republic of Moldova, Tabartse said.

According to an investigation published by The Washington Post in October 2022, the FSB allegedly directed tens of millions of dollars from some of Russia’s largest state-owned companies to develop a network of Moldovan politicians and reorient the country to Moscow.

The pro-Russian party of the scandalous Ilan Shor calls on the population for new demonstrations

The pro-Russian opposition party of scandalous businessman Ilan Shor accused Maia Sanda of attempting to usurp power and called for new protests on Sunday after the president of the Republic of Moldova proposed giving security agencies more prerogatives, the Chisinau press reported.

According to Radio Chisinau, this is how the Shor party reacted to Maia Sandu’s statements regarding Russia’s plan to destabilize the Republic of Moldova, which also targeted this party, founded by the former mayor of Orhei, Ilan Shor, who was sentenced in 2017 to seven years and six months in prison for fraud and money laundering and brought to international responsibility.

“Russia currently does not have the strength to attack the Republic of Moldova”

NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Joane claims that Russia does not currently have the forces to attack the Republic of Moldova and suggests that it is now trying to hinder the country’s pro-Western vector and divide the population. , reports Radio Chisinau.

• “Today, Russia does not have enough strength, because it is necessary to reach Transnistria by surrounding Ukraine from behind… because the plan is to take Odesa and create a land corridor to Transnistria. But we do not see that Russia has enough strength for this.
• What they are trying to do is to hinder the pro-Western course of the Republic of Moldova. They are trying to work with the “splits” that exist in this country, they are trying to undermine the leadership of Maia Sandu and they are trying to make Moldova Ukraine, Georgia or Bosnia.
• The only thing I want to say is that Russia has neither the ability nor the intention to start a war against NATO. They have enough problems in Ukraine,” Joane said.

He made these statements on Monday at a press conference in Berlin, responding to questions about recent statements by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said that the Republic of Moldova is the next country that risks repeating the fate of Ukraine.

Moscow accused the West, through the voice of its Foreign Minister Serhii Lavrov, of wanting to “turn the Republic of Moldova into a new Ukraine.”

It will be recalled that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, announced on Thursday in Brussels that Ukraine intercepted the plan of the Russian special services to destroy the Republic of Moldova.