Kyiv managed to suppress a plan developed by Russia to subvert the Moldovan government, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President, informed European Union leaders on Thursday.
Though it is unknown if the order came from the Kremlin, Zelenskyy has stated that the Russian secret services were behind the conception of the intercepted plans.
During his visit to Brussels Zelenskyy said "I have informed [Moldovan President Maia Sandu] that we have intercepted the plan of the destruction of Moldova by the Russian intelligence."
Zelenskyy asserted that the documents revealed the individuals involved, the timeline, and the strategy to "break the democracy of Moldova and establish control over Moldova."
Zelenskyy voiced that the scheme was analogous to earlier unsuccessful Moscow initiatives to overthrow Kyiv, which was not the first time Russian representatives had proposed that Moldova would be the next target of their plans.
It was only two months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine when a Russian general declared Moscow's intentions to take control of the eastern and southern parts of the country, extending as far as Odessa on the Black Sea, with the ultimate objective of invading Moldova to the west.
The Ukrainian city of Odessa lies adjacent to Moldova and the contested Transnistria region, a self-declared state with close ties to Russia.
The exact intentions of Russia in its most recent scheme are unknown and Moldovan officials have been reticent about offering details, only mentioning the discovery of "subversive activities, aimed to undermine the Republic of Moldova, destabilize and violate public order."
Moldova's Intelligence and Security Service declared in a statement that they had been provided with relevant information by their Ukrainian counterparts. However, they had to be careful not to reveal too much information, as there is a possibility of impeding multiple operational activities in progress.
In December, Moldova's intelligence agency cautioned that the Russians may be plotting to establish a land bridge between Ukraine's south and Transnistria. It has been noted that Russian forces have not moved further since their retreat from the city of Kherson in November.
Defense officials from Ukraine and the West have been cautioning for many months that Moscow is intending to start a large-scale attack in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, but they have not specified from which area this offensive would be initiated.
Last week, Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, maintained that the West was aiming to make Moldova the "another Ukraine." He additionally proposed that the Western nations supported Sandu's 2020 election and maintained that her aim was to become a member of NATO.
The Russian government has used the same language to explain why they view Moldova's potential NATO membership as a threat, as was done to try to validate the invasion of Ukraine.
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