Russian secret services trying to subvert pro-West govt in Moldova: Report

Even as it is faltering in its battle in Ukraine, Russia continues to try to manipulate countries in Eastern Europe and its secret services continue to plot and funnel tens of millions of dollars to cultivate a network in former Soviet Union states to reorient them towards Moscow, said The Washington Post in its report citing a collection of intelligence documents and interviews with officials.

Russian secret service The Federal Security Service (FSB) has been plotting to subvert the pro-Western government of Moldova, reported Washington Post, which calls into question Moscow after weeks of massive anti-government demonstrations in Moldovan capital Chisinau.

The Post mentions "intelligence documents and interviews with Moldovan, Ukrainian and Western officials" and says the documents, from Ukrainian intelligence reveal “how Moscow continues to manipulate Eastern European countries despite its military campaign in Ukraine wavering”.

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The FSB has funnelled tens of millions of dollars from some of Russia’s biggest state companies to cultivate a network of Moldovan politicians and reorient the country toward Moscow, the report said.

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At the centre of these plots is the organiser of the ongoing protests in Moldova: Ilan Shor, leader of the homonymous opposition party in exile in Israel.
A senior Russian politician praised the Shor as “a worthy long-term partner” and even offered the region led by his party a cheap Russian gas deal.

The Post report said that at the end of September, the control of two major pro-Russia TV channels in Moldova was passed to a Shor collaborator, providing the latter with "an important platform to advance its Moscow-aligned agenda".

Shor, 35, referred to as “the young one” by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), is a leading figure in Kremlin’s efforts to subvert this former Soviet republic

The United States took action last Wednesday, announcing sanctions on a number of Russian and Moldovan organisations and several individuals, including Shor, accused by Washington of "coordinating with representatives of other oligarchs to create political unrest in Moldova" and of having "received support from Russia" and working “with Moscow-based entities to undermine” Moldova’s bid to join the European Union”.

Moscow has long supported a breakaway enclave inside Moldova’s borders that is occupied by Russian troops, and the frozen conflict there has been a brake on Moldova’s efforts to integrate with Western Europe.

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Furthermore, documents obtained by Ukrainian intelligence claim that the Moldovan opposition party avails itself of the advice of "political strategists" of the FSB, a charge rebutted by Shor, who said, "We are an absolutely independent party, which only defends the interests of Moldovan citizens," and accused the government of having brought Moldova to the brink of "economic collapse" with its subjection to the West.

Shor also reacted with disdain to the sanctions imposed on him by the United States, calling them "a victory" and demonstrating that the Moldovan president, Maia Sandu, is "really scared by the protests and understands that her days are numbered".

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