Several buildings of state and public institutions have been vandalized over the past two days in Moldova's capital, Chisinau, with police voicing suspicion that Russia is behind the incidents.
Moldova is holding a presidential election and a referendum on joining the European Union next month -- two crucial votes that could cement the former Soviet republic's path to the West.
Early on September 28, the Moldovan public radio and television building and the Supreme Court building were spray-painted, police said, adding that they had identified a circle of suspects.
The previous night, on September 27, the government building and the building of the Ministry for Labor and Social Protection were vandalized. Moldovan police detained two young men suspected of being behind the attacks.
Police later said the two claimed they had been recruited to vandalize state institutions "with the aim of destabiling Moldova."
Pro-Western President Maia Sandu will run for reelection on October 20, the same day a referendum on joining the EU has been scheduled.
Under the U.S.-educated Sandu, Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries, has firmly turned itself toward the West, despite decades of post-Soviet Russian influence. Chisinau firmly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and has joined EU sanctions against Moscow.
It has also accepted tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees. Earlier this year, Moldova opened accession talks with the EU after securing an invitation from the 27-member bloc in 2022.
Moldovan police said in a statement that authorities had detained several people who had been trained in Russia to "attack several state institutions."
One of those detained said he was responsible for finding young men who would then be "sent to Moscow for training," police said in the statement.
In Moscow, those recruited had been trained on "how to ignite protests and destabilization in Chisinau."
They were then informed about the actions they would have to perpetrate in Moldova, the police said, adding that they would have been paid 500 euros ($560) per month for their actions.
Police said that the group that traveled to Moscow for training numbered 20 people, 13 of whom have already been identified.
Earlier this week, Moldova's intelligence service, the SIS, banned several Russian news sites suspected of spreading Russian propaganda.