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Moldova Raids 250 Sites in Probe of Russia-Linked Plot Days Before Election

Authorities say the operation targets a coordinated effort to incite unrest to manipulate voters.

Overview

  • Police said 250 searches led to 74 detentions in an investigation into planned mass riots allegedly coordinated from Russia through criminal networks.
  • Officials reported that some suspects repeatedly traveled to Serbia for training and that instructions were sent via Telegram by curators in the Russian Federation.
  • President Maia Sandu accused the Kremlin of pouring hundreds of millions of euros into buying votes and paying provocateurs, urging citizens to resist manipulation.
  • Bloomberg and the BBC reported documents and undercover findings pointing to a Kremlin-directed plan using recruitment, staged protests, and paid propaganda, with links cited to Ilan Shor and the Evrazia organization.
  • Monitoring groups detailed AI-driven disinformation—fake media sites, bot networks, and paid engagement farms—targeting PAS and the EU, with platforms such as YouTube removing coordinated influence channels.