Russia is launching a large-scale operation to destabilize Europe, and the Kremlin's main goal for 2026 is the collapse of NATO and the EU from within. To test this strategy, Moscow has chosen Moldova, writes RBC-Ukraine, citing a publication by The New York Times, reports Focus.
According to sources from Western intelligence services, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his plans during a closed meeting with the Russian military command. This happened shortly after he publicly accused the West of "stirring up hysteria" about threats from Russia.
The Kremlin's current hierarchy of priorities has two main tasks: the conquest of Ukraine and the establishment of control over Moldova.
Moscow is counting on seizing the southern part of Ukraine in order to create a land corridor to the unrecognized Transnistria and gain a foothold for pressure on the Alliance.
The journalists have studied many documents and talked with representatives of the US and European special services. It became clear that the Russian military intelligence (GRU) organized training for young Moldovans in Serbia, Bosnia and the Moscow region, the material states.
There they were trained:
to break through police cordons and organize mass riots;
to make homemade explosive devices and set buildings on fire;
to use drones equipped with devices for throwing explosives.
A separate direction is the large-scale vote-buying system, led by Moldovan businessman Ilan Shor under the control of Russian official Sergei Kiriyenko.
Over 150 thousand people have been attracted to the network, and almost 20 million dollars were paid to activists before the 2024 referendum alone. In addition, Orthodox priests were recruited for campaigning for $1,000.
The peak of the Russian operation coincided with the parliamentary elections in Moldova on September 28, 2025. Russian hackers broke into the systems of the Central Election Commission, and trained militants planned violent actions.
Thanks to hundreds of searches and arrests by law enforcement agencies, mass riots were prevented, and Mai Sandu's pro-Western party won over 50% of the vote.
However, intelligence agencies emphasize that the Kremlin has not stopped and is counting on a long-term destabilization campaign. Moscow publicly denies interfering in Moldova's internal affairs and attempts to undermine the West.