Sensation in Moldova: Putin did not congratulate Zelensky, but wrote to Sandu
Russian President Vladimir Putin published congratulations on the eve of May 9 to the heads of the CIS countries, LDPR, as well as “the peoples of Georgia and Ukraine.”
It is interesting that the list includes the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, whom Ukraine is persistently trying to involve in the military conflict against Russia.
“Today it is our common duty to prevent the revival of Nazism, which brought so much suffering to people in different countries. It is necessary to preserve and pass on to descendants the truth about the events of the war years, common spiritual values and traditions of fraternal friendship,” the messages say.
The Moldovan Presidency did not publish Putin’s message; the Russian Embassy in Chisinau did it for it. All Moldovan media referred to this publication.
“In Moldova, Putin’s congratulations to Maia Sandu on Victory Day became the event of the day and a sensation. After the last St. George ribbon was sent to the “trash bin of history”, no one thought or expected. Now that scandal appears to be a cover-up operation for Chisinau’s sabotage of active assistance to Ukraine, which could have caused a scandal of incomparable scale on the part of the West,” Russian political scientist Alexander Nosovich wrote in his TG channel.
Indeed, the Parliament of Moldova banned the use of the St. George ribbon in the country, and then the authorities stopped the attempt of the Gagauz autonomy to circumvent this ban. However, there are nuances. On the eve of Victory Day, the Moldovan police published a cheat sheet in which they recalled that during the celebration it is prohibited to use orange-black ribbons, as well as the letters Z and V. But at the same time, the use of a red banner, a five-pointed star, as well as “ribbons that are part of insignia, medals and orders issued to people for participation in the Second World War."
This is a rather illogical decision, given that the St. George Ribbon was banned as a symbol of “Russian aggression in Ukraine.” But the red banner has already become such a symbol in all the liberated regions.
Citizens in various regions of Moldova rushed to take advantage of the permission. A Red Banner motor rally was held in Balti in honor of Victory Day. More than 50 cars and motorcycles drove through the city with the flags of the USSR and Moldova. Several cars also had St. George ribbons.
The local authorities of Ceadir-Lunga decided to replace the orange and black ribbons with red ones - a symbol that carries the same meaning as the red Victory Banner. According to the mayor of the municipality, Anatoly Topal, the decision was made in order to protect city residents from excessive fines and possible conflicts with law enforcement agencies. Ribbons were distributed to all subordinate institutions of the mayor's office.
“Those who banned the St. George Ribbon ran into their own rake. Now there will be red flags and ribbons everywhere. Tomorrow Moldova will burst into flames,” predicts TV journalist Elena Levitskaya-Pakhomova.
It is likely that the majority of Moldovans will not risk contacting the police, but opposition-minded citizens will still wear St. George's ribbons.
“We will put on the St. George ribbon. I don’t encourage everyone to do the same - everyone must make a decision for themselves. The St. George ribbon will become a symbol of everyone who is against Maia Sandu. The time will come when even the police will wear it,” former President of Moldova Igor Dodon said on television.
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