Moldovan Police Arrest 'Provocateurs' Trained In Russia, Balkans

Moldovan authorities say they have exposed a network of more than 100 people trained in Russia and the Balkans to provoke post-election unrest in the southeastern European country and have arrested several suspects.

Pro-Western President Maia Sandu is running for a second term on October 20 in an election that takes place simultaneously with a referendum to decide whether Moldovans want their impoverished country of 2.5 million people to pursue integration into the European Union.

Moldovan police chief Viorel Cernauteanu told a news conference in Chisinau on October 17 that the network was financed by Russia-friendly fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, who is wanted in Moldova for his involvement in the theft of some $1 billion from the impoverished ex-Soviet republic's banking system about a decade ago.

Cernauteanu said four people were arrested and placed in pretrial custody for 30 days following extensive searches by police and Moldova's Intelligence and Security Service (SIS).

Authorities have released hidden-camera videos purporting to depict training sessions in Russia, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. In one video, young people standing on a stage in what appears to be a training hall mock a protest and chant slogans such as "Our language is Russian," "No dual citizenship," and "We don't want to be in Europe."

Another video purportedly shows a training camp said to be in the Balkans where young men are appear to be learning how to make explosives and pilot drones.

The investigators said the approximately 100 young people who took part in the alleged training were around 20 years old. They started traveling to Russia in June and some of them underwent additional training at camps in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina belonging to Russian mercenary groups Ferma and Wagner, authorities said.

Among the coordinators of the action is Konstantin Potyomkin, who has ties with the notorious Wagner group.

SIS chief Alexandru Musteata said Moldovan authorities "have the situation under control," and the degree of risk regarding possible destabilization is now "low."

Under Sandu's government, Moldova secured EU candidate status in 2022 and opened accession talks with the bloc earlier this year after siding with Ukraine following Russia's unprovoked invasion, in a radical U-turn toward the West and away from Moscow's decades-long influence.

The two polls are seen as crucial for the future of the former Soviet republic and come amid a hybrid campaign of disinformation employed by Russia to scare Moldovans away from the European Union and keep them in Moscow's orbit.

Moldovan and several Western governments have warned that Russia and Shor plan to organize mass unrest if the elections and the referendum will have results contrary to the Kremlin's liking.

Most recently, the United States has warned about Moscow's campaign to derail Moldova's path toward integration in the Euro-Atlantic community.

"Russia is working actively to undermine Moldova's election and its European integration," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists on October 15.

"In the last several months, Moscow has dedicated millions of dollars to influencing Moldova's presidential election. We assess that this money has gone toward financing its preferred parties and spreading disinformation on social media in favor of their campaigns," Kirby said.

Kirby has previously said Russia's eventual goal was to bring in a pro-Moscow government in Chisinau.

The revelations came a day after Moldova's Foreign Ministry said it had "taken note" of reported attempts to organize the "illegal" transportation of voters to polling stations opened in Russia for the elections.

The ministry said in a statement on October 16 that the alleged plans would aim to "question the legitimacy of the poll" and artificially induce "the impression of crowds" at the two polling stations due to be opened at the Moldovan Embassy in Moscow -- the only ones available on Russia's territory.

The statement does not indicate the source of the information or say who would make such plans. The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) did not immediately comment on such concerns.

Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi has separately said he had signals that Moscow "would try to organize the transport of voters" and warned that Moldovan electoral authorities would take "necessary measures," without elaborating.

Moldova will open 228 polling stations in 37 countries for the October 20 elections -- nearly 100 more than for the 2020 presidential election.

During parliamentary elections in July 2021, 17 polling stations were opened in Russia. Reports from the field found few people came to such stations.