The President of Moldova: Wagner PMC was preparing a coup in the country
Pressure on pro-European authorities continues, Kremlin tries to bribe voters with money
The Russian PMC Wagner, led by Yevhen Prigozhin, was preparing a coup d'état in Moldova, but it was prevented.
Source. This was stated by Moldovan President Maia Sandu in an interview with the British newspaper Financial Times.
Sandu spoke with an FT correspondent during a summit in Granada, Spain, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously visited.
According to Sandu, in order to organize a coup aimed at her abdication from power, Moscow continues to illegally import money into Moldova, including cash and credit cards issued in Dubai.
Thus, it is supposed to bribe voters before the elections. "According to our information, this is a plan prepared by Prigozhin's team," Sandu said.
According to the Moldovan president, the Wagnerites were trying to make sure that mass protests in the country escalated into clashes. "The situation is extremely dramatic, we need to protect ourselves," Sandu said.
She said that Moldova's intelligence services have traced at least 20 million euros that Russia brought into the country for political purposes, but the real figure is obviously even higher.
"The tools they used to bring in money are very diverse. For some time we have seen that Moldovan citizens were sent to Moscow by air via Georgia. And each of these people came back with 10,000 euros," Sandu said. "Recently, we've seen them bringing bank cards issued in Dubai. They are just handing out thousands of cards. Bank cards for people they are trying to bribe."
According to the publication, in February of this year, European and American officials said that Moscow was trying to overthrow Sandu's pro-European government. In March, Moldova reported the arrest of a Wagner PMC employee and charged him with organizing a violent struggle against the authorities.
On November 5, Moldova will hold general elections to local authorities.
According to the publication, in some parts of the country, the ruling Sandu party found itself in a difficult situation, in particular in the capital Chisinau.
According to Sandu, it has evidence that Moscow is trying to ensure the success of pro-Russian forces in regional elections in order to strengthen them in next year's presidential elections and in the parliamentary elections in 2025.
Last year, Russia tried to use its position as Moldova's sole gas supplier to put pressure on Moldova, the FT notes.
"Russia will increase pressure on Moldova. They wanted to use energy and failed. They tried to overthrow the government, but failed. And now they are resorting to the strongest interference in our elections, using large amounts of money," Sandu said.
Background. As reported, Moldova will no longer buy gas from Gazprom, as the country has managed to obtain gas from alternative sources in Europe.
If you have read this article to the end, we hope that means it was useful for you.
We work to ensure that our journalistic and analytical work is of high quality, and we strive to perform it as competently as possible. This also requires financial independence. Support us for only UAH 196 per month.
Become a Mind subscriber for just USD 5 per month and support the development of independent business journalism!
You can unsubscribe at any time in your LIQPAY account or by sending us an email: [email protected]
