The Moldovan police announced today that they discovered a program in which hundreds of Moldovan citizens were trained in Russia, but also in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, to cause riots and civil unrest.
It is the latest in a series of accusations of Russian interference in the internal affairs of Moldova, made a few days before the first round of the presidential elections in that country and the referendum on the EU accession, which will be held on October 20, Reuters reports.
Moldovan authorities state that citizens have been regularly taken to Russia for training since June, in groups of about 20 people.
Moldovan police director Viorel Černauțeanu said that more than 300 young people from Moldova recently visited Russia. They stated that their intention was to attend cultural events, but they were actually visiting camps where they received instructions to create disorder in Moldova, he added.
He stated that some of these persons were trained in camps connected to private military companies in the territories of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.
Černauțeanu also said that four Moldovan citizens who participated in the training program were arrested.
Moldovan law enforcement agencies believe the riot training was organized by a group linked to fugitive businessman Ilan Shor, who is close to the Kremlin, police said.
Shor, who is under US sanctions, has rejected those accusations, as well as claims that he is a political ally of Russia.
Moldovan police recently announced that Russian-backed criminal groups were bribing voters and planning to disrupt the upcoming presidential election and referendum, citing plans to seize state buildings.
Russia, which accuses the pro-Western Moldovan government of promoting “Russophobia”, has rejected accusations of meddling in Moldova’s internal affairs since the country stepped up efforts to exit Russia’s orbit following Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Photo: State Department
