WASHINGTON -- Russian disinformation threatens to interfere with Moldovan elections later this year just as the country begins to make significant progress on reforms under pro-Western President Maia Sandu, U.S. and Moldovan officials said at separate events in Washington on July 23.
Moldova is preparing for a vote on October 20 that will include a referendum on membership in the European Union.
Sandu, who defeated pro-Moscow socialist Igor Dodon in 2020 and has since said that Moldova’s future is in the EU, will seek reelection, a test for the country wedged between Ukraine and Romania.
The election will be "historic and pivotal" for the country of 2.5 million people where the transition to democracy and a market economy has been slower than in many post-Soviet states, Moldovan Ambassador Viorel Ursu said.
Ursu said Moldova, which is also contending with about 1,000 Russian troops in its breakaway Transdniester region and coping with an influx of about 1 million refugees from Ukraine, remains in a vulnerable position, as Russia uses it as "a testing ground" for disinformation, which he said "is everywhere" and getting more advanced.
He noted that Russian disinformation used to be in Russian but in the last six months has started to arrive in perfect Romanian, which is similar to the Moldovan language and is spoken by a majority of the population.
He also said he expects an increase in deep fakes in the week before the election, leaving no time to debunk them.
At a hearing later on July 23, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Christopher Smith told members of Congress that the election will be a "historic opportunity" for Moldovans but there will also be much at stake as the country faces Russian aggression, interference, and disinformation.
"We see very clear action by the Russians to undermine this upcoming election and referendum. They are engaging networks of interference financed by the Russian state...designed to deprive the Moldovan people of their right to choose their future," Smith told a subcommittee of the House Foreign Relations Committee.
SEE ALSO: Moldova Encouraged By NATO's Call For Withdrawal Of Russian Troops From TransdniesterSubcommittee Chairman Thomas Kean (Republican-New Jersey) said Moldova had been on track to be a post-Soviet success story, but now faces the question of whether it will continue down a Western path or fall back into the Kremlin's sphere of influence.
Smith told Kean that Russia uses a variety of methods to spread disinformation, including campaigns funded by Russian oligarchs that pay people to protest. Russia has also tried to undermine turnout by spreading false information that Moldova will be dragged into the war in Ukraine, he said.
"The goals that we have seen them articulate make clear that they are doing this in order to get a pro-Kremlin candidate in office," Smith said.
Smith said the United States had assisted Moldova to bolster its security and territorial integrity, integrate its economy, and implement sanctions designed to counter Russia's malign influence.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the United States has backed Moldova's fight against corruption and its efforts to get closer to Europe with $824 million in aid, he said. That compares with the European Union’s 2.4 billion euros ($2.6 billion) since 2021 for similar programs.
Alexander Sokolowski, deputy assistant administrator for Europe and Eurasia, told the committee that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) had stepped up programming to support the diversification of Moldova’s energy sources and foster increased trade with the European governments.
Moldova now meets 100 percent of its natural gas needs with non-Russian supplies, but the supply of electricity continues to be a concern, as the country gets between 70 percent and 90 percent of its electricity from a plant in Transdniester, Sokolowski said.
The committee also heard a report on U.S.-Georgia bilateral relations from Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Joshua Huck, who said the United States continues to support civil society in Georgia but has seen an anti-democracy shift with the recent adoption of a "foreign agents" law similar to one that Russia has used to suppress dissent.
Smith said by contrast Moldova is addressing human rights and practical issues that relate to the economy, adding that the United States sees "tremendous progress when it comes to their commitment."