Ahead of elections, Moldova’s president warns of Kremlin interference, urges citizens to defend European path
Moldovan President Maia Sandu issued a stark warning to citizens on Sept. 22, saying the country’s sovereignty, independence, and European future are under threat from Russia’s attempts to meddle in its democratic processes.
Her remarks come just days before Moldova’s parliamentary elections in which a group of Russian-friendly parties will challenge the ruling pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) on Sept. 28.
"Today, with all seriousness, I tell you that our sovereignty, independence, integrity, and European future are in danger," Sandu said in a video address.
Moldovan officials have long cautioned against Russia’s attempts to destabilize the country, and new evidence points to Kremlin schemes to interfere in the parliamentary vote and obstruct Moldova’s EU ambitions.
According to the president, the Kremlin is spending "hundreds of millions of euros to buy hundreds of thousands of votes on both banks of the Nistru, as well as abroad," while flooding the public sphere with "dozens of lies every day." She said that "hundreds of people are paid to provoke disorder, violence, and to frighten people."
Sandu warned that if Russia succeeds in exerting control over Moldova, "the consequences will be direct and dangerous for our country and for the entire region." She pointed to risks for Ukraine’s security and wider European stability.
"Europe will end at Moldova’s border. European funds will stop at the Prut. Freedom of movement could come to an end. Our land could become a launchpad for infiltration toward the Odesa region. The Transnistrian region would be destabilized," she said.
The president stressed that Moscow does not act alone. "The Kremlin has accomplices in Moldova. People who have shown many times in the past that for money they sell even their country," Sandu said. "They want a weak Moldova, a corrupt justice system that will not hold them accountable for corruption or for treason."
She called on Moldovans to resist foreign influence and corruption at the ballot box: "The Kremlin thinks that we are all for sale, that we are too small to resist, that we are not a country but a territory. But Moldova is our home, and our home is not for sale."
