Overview

• Police conducted about 250 searches across Moldova and detained 74 suspects for up to 72 hours in a probe into an alleged Russia‑coordinated plan to incite mass unrest.
• Prosecutors say many detainees repeatedly traveled to Serbia for training in protest tactics, with investigators alleging coordination from Russian-linked actors through criminal networks.
• Prime Minister Dorin Recean accused the Kremlin of spending hundreds of millions of euros to influence the election, citing more than 1,000 cyberattacks this year and a separate arrest over crypto-linked party financing.
• President Maia Sandu warned of large-scale vote buying, paid provocateurs and disinformation targeting her party, while Moscow denied meddling and Russia’s SVR alleged—without evidence—that the EU intends to install NATO forces in Moldova.
• Media probes by Bloomberg and the BBC reported documents and undercover findings pointing to Kremlin-backed financing, recruitment and online manipulation, as opposition leaders decry the raids as intimidation ahead of the closely contested Sept. 28 parliamentary vote.