Inside Russia’s Moldova plot: GRU-linked camps and cash to disrupt elections

Russia has mounted an extensive campaign to interfere in Moldova’s elections, according to a report by Live Mint, citing sources including Moldovan officials, Western intelligence officials, and a review of thousands of documents. The campaign, aimed at weakening President Maia Sandu and her pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), involved military intelligence-linked training camps, vote-buying networks, cyberattacks, and the exploitation of Moldova's Orthodox religious community.

Russian operatives established training camps in Serbia, Bosnia, and near Moscow, where recruits were taught tactics such as breaking through police cordons, setting buildings on fire, and handling weapons. Additionally, a sophisticated network overseen by fugitive Moldovan businessman Ilan Shor, who resides in Russia, was used to influence voters and organize protests against Sandu and Moldova’s EU ambitions.

The network, which recruited over 150,000 individuals, reportedly received about $20 million in payments from Russian operatives. The campaign also involved the use of about 240 Telegram chatbots to recruit and coordinate participants, as well as religious figures who traveled to Russia to receive payments and promote messages opposing EU membership and Moldova's pro-Western policies.

Brief written by urgent.news from Live Mint's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.