Moldova 2025 elections: Weekly Bulletin

As Moldova gears up for a pivotal parliamentary election on Sep. 28, the former Soviet republic is allegedly facing a deluge of destabilisation campaigns that threaten to undermine the electoral process.

The Mayor of Moldova’s capital has been barred from entering neighboring Romania and the ID-free Schengen area; two criminals from a pro-Russian enclave in Moldova set fire to a pro-Ukraine restaurant in Estonia, and Moldova’s pro-Russian „Victory” Bloc and associates of a Moldovan oligarch have been subjected to new EU sanctions for attempting to influence the upcoming elections. 

Additionally, false narratives have been circulating online about cheap Russian gas and increased exports to Russia, alongside claims of „Nazism” within Moldova’s pro-Western government and questions over the legitimacy of Moldovan President Maia Sandu.

Each week leading up to the vote, Context.ro is publishing a round-up of the most important news stories and investigations that highlight how foreign forces – namely Russia – are meddling in the country’s elections to try to derail the country’s path toward European Union membership.

Chisinau Mayor Banned from entering Romania, Schengen Area

Ion Ceban, the incumbent Russia-friendly Mayor of Moldova’s capital, Chisinau, was barred last week for five years from entering Romania and the broader ID-check-free Schengen, according to a report by Ziarul de Gardă.

Romania’s foreign ministry confirmed the report, stating that the travel ban was installed due to national security concerns, and said it came into effect on July 9.

Sursa foto: Facebook

Ceban, who was elected to a second term as mayor in 2019, entered politics with the Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM). The center-left party has consistently supported closer ties with Russia.

Three years after being elected as a member of parliament in 2011, Ceban led anti-EU accession demonstrations in 2014, coordinating a protest even in Brussels, but later softened his discourse to a more EU-friendly one. 

However, in 2022, the US placed the PCRM, led by Ceban, among the entities through which Russia, via an FSB agent, allegedly sought to influence the political situation in Moldova.

Read the full article here.

Moldovan Criminals Who Torched Slava Ukraina Restaurant

Two Moldovan citizens from the semi-autonomous pro-Russian region of Gagauzia, were sentenced by an Estonian court to serve prison time for their alleged part in conducting sabotage schemes in the Baltic state, according to an investigation by Rise Moldova and Delfi Media.

Sursa foto: Art of Alex Buretz / RISE Moldova

After being recruited by Russian secret services, the two Moldovans, who had experience in ATM thefts, were paid in cryptocurrency to set fire to a restaurant called Slava Ukraine in Tallin, and to a shop located about 10 kilometers from a NATO military base. 

One of the Moldovans doused the restaurant with gasoline setting it ablaze, while the other filmed the incident, which was later posted to YouTube. After the attack, the pair fled to Lithuania but were arrested a few days later in Italy.

They were sentenced to more than six years and six months and two years and six months in prison. Read the full investigation here.

New sanctions on „Victory” Bloc and associated of fugitive oligarch 

The EU has slapped new sanctions on Moldovan politicians allegedly affiliated with the Kremlin, including the party leaders of the pro-Russian „Victory” bloc who were in Moscow two years ago and are accused of trying to destabilize Moldova, TV8 reports. 

Those targeted by sanctions include Victory bloc leader Vadim Grozavu; Alexei Lungu, leader of the Chance Party, and Victoria Furtuna, leader of the Moldova Mare party; and deputies and members of the Revival Party. 

Sursa foto: Kommersant Photo Agency

The pro-Russian politicians are banned from entering the EU, and their assets in the bloc’s member states will also be frozen.

They are suspected of trying to destabilize Moldova, including through a massive vote-buying which attempted to influence the results of last year’s presidential election and referendum on whether Moldova should enshrine in its constitution its path to joining the EU.

Among the newly sanctioned organizations is also the Russian company A7, owned by Ilan Sor. 

Previously, the EU’s list of those sanctioned for attempts to destabilize Moldova included Gagauzia autonomy governor Evghenia Guțul, PACE leader Gheorghe Cavcaliuc, convicted fugitive Sor, and the parliamentarian Marina Tauber, and the Eurasia organization, which has been used to promote Russian interests.

Read the full article here.

Fake News: If Moldova Normalizes Relations with Russia, It Will Get Cheap Gas and Increased Exports to the Russian Market

One of the pro-Russian narratives consistently spread by pro-Russian Moldovan politicians is that if Moldova normalizes relations with Russia, it will get cheap gas and the volume of its exports to Russian will increase.

This fake news has been debunked by StopFals.md, which states, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics and expert assessments, that the volume of exports to Russia began to decline long before the current government came to power. 

Additionally, Russia has repeatedly imposed politically motivated embargoes against Moldovan goods, as well as weaponized energy in the former Soviet republic.

Read the material here.

Moldovan Social Media user Spreading pro-Russian propaganda online

A Moldovan social media user, Sergiu Badan, had accumulated hundreds of thousands of views by spreading Russian disinformation online, according to StopFals.md. His popular, misleading videos – spread across very large platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Telegram, include anti-EU and anti-government messaging, such as false claims that Moldova’s President Maia Sandu was not legitimately elected, and allegations that the ruling pro-Western Party of Actions and Solidarity is has faction of “Nazism” within it. He also shares conspiracy theories about the war in Ukraine.

Sursa foto: Facebook

Moldova’s Constitutional Court confirmed the legitimacy of Sandu’s victory in the presidential election last year, and validated her mandate on November 28. That election was beleaguered by widespread Russian interference and a massive vote-buying scheme by Sor, the pro-Russian fugitive oligarch. 

StopFals.md points out that the „Nazism” label is typical of Russian propaganda, one of the leading false pretexts invoked by the Russian president for launching his full-blown war against Ukraine. The falsehood about Maia Sandu’s lack of legitimacy has been promoted by pro-Russian politicians and by top Russian officials. Read the full article here.