Overview

• Police carried out roughly 250 searches targeting more than 100 people across multiple localities and four prisons, detaining 74 suspects for up to 72 hours.
• Investigators say many detainees, aged 19 to 45, repeatedly traveled to Serbia for instruction in protest tactics and firearms, and searches seized weapons, ammunition, tents, and passports.
• SIS director Alexandru Musteata named Russian operative Andrei Pavlov as the coordinator and cited links to exiled oligarch Ilan Shor, as Bloomberg and the BBC separately reported Kremlin-linked plans to mobilize diaspora voters, fund protests, and run disinformation campaigns.
• President Maia Sandu accused the Kremlin of spending hundreds of millions of euros to buy votes and pay provocateurs, while Moscow rejected allegations of interference.
• A day later, anti-corruption authorities conducted more than 30 additional searches into alleged crypto-funded party financing, detaining one person and seizing cash and records tied to funds officials say originated in Russia.