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Added on the 28/02/2023 11:02:37 - Copyright : Euronews EN
Moldova does not currently face “imminent military danger”, but is subject to “hybrid warfare generated by Russia” in a bid to “overthrow state power”, according to its defence minister Anatolie Nosatii.
In the past few months, Moldova – a small country located between Romania and Ukraine – has seen a wave of protests against its pro-European government. The country's authorities accuse Russia of using hybrid warfare to destabilise Moldova. They regularly manage to infiltrate groups thought to be taking orders from the Kremlin. Ilan Shor, a Moldovan oligarch now living in exile in Israel, is at the head of one of these movements. FRANCE 24's Elena Volochine reports from Moldova.
In a interview with FRANCE 24, Moldova's minister of internal affairs said that Moscow was attempting to "reinstall a pro-Russian government" in Moldova, and that "Russian interest groups" and "fugitive oligarchs" were behind recent protests calling for the resignation of the pro-Western President Maia Sandu. "There is clear evidence that these so-called protests were financed, that the transportation of people to Chisinau [was] being truly organised, very well targeted, in clear places and clear timing with clear instructions. And [in] the media space, there is clearly pro-Russian propaganda, there is [a] clear pro-Russian narrative. If you look into the investigations about the cyber attacks, many of the IP addresses were coming from Russia," Ana Revenco said.
Crowds gathered in the streets of Chisinau to protest against Moldova's pro-Western government. Local authorities say demonstrators were coordinated by pro-Russian oligarchs.
On Tuesday in Chisinau, demonstrations called for government subsidies for winter energy bills.
A number of London police have stepped back from firearms duties after a fellow officer was charged with murder over the fatal shooting of a young black man, a force spokesman said Sunday. Police in Britain are not routinely armed and the small proportion who are authorised to carry guns are highly trained.