Secret document reveals Russia’s 10-year plan to destabilize Ukraine’s neighbor Moldova
A secret plan drawn up by Russia’s security service, the FSB, reveals options to destabilize Moldova, including supporting pro-Russian groups, using the Orthodox Church and threatening to cut off natural gas supplies.
The document appears to have been prepared to block Moldova’s inclination towards the West, including alignment with NATO and applying for EU membership. Repeated reference is made to the importance of preventing Moldova from joining NATO.
It was acquired and first reported by a consortium of VSquare and Frontstory, RISE Moldova, Expressen in Sweden, Dossier Center for Investigative Journalism and other media organizations.
CNN has seen the full document, which appears to have been produced by the FSB’s Directorate for Cross-Border Cooperation in 2021. Its title is “Strategic Objectives of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Moldova.”
The document sets out a 10-year strategy to bring Moldova, a former Soviet republic located between Ukraine and Romania, into Russia’s sphere of influence.
The plan includes making Moldova dependent on Russian gas imports and fomenting social unrest, as well as trying to block Moldovan efforts to gain influence in the pro-Russian breakaway region of Transnistria, where some 1,500 Russian soldiers are stationed.
Border of Ukraine: Russia has accused Ukraine of planning to invade Transnistria, which borders Ukraine’s southwest. The Russian Defense Ministry said last month that Ukrainians were collecting armor in several border towns. Both Moldova and Ukraine have denied the allegations.
Russia’s response: When asked about the document on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We have no knowledge of the existence of such a plan. I do not rule out that this is another fraud. Russia is always open to establishing good neighborly, mutually beneficial relations with Moldova”.
Peskov added: “We deeply regret that the current leadership of Moldova harbors completely unjustified and baseless prejudices against Moscow.”
