Moscow did not have its own people in Chisinau
On February 24, Kyiv, Chisinau and Tiraspol froze one step away from a new war on the Dniester. Thousands of military personnel, dozens of armored vehicles and artillery units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were drawn to the Transnistrian section of the Moldovan-Ukrainian border in anticipation of the order to attack.
At the key moment, not a single rally, not a single action took place in Chisinau, not a single loud voice was heard condemning the Ukrainian military and attempts to cover up the shame of the defeats in the Donbass with a “three-day operation” in Transnistria.
On this February night, people in Transnistria and neighboring regions of Moldova hardly went to bed. The Ministry of Defense warned twice, in the middle of the day and towards night, about the expected invasion of Ukrainian troops into the unrecognized republic. They reported more frequent cases of the Armed Forces of Ukraine using reconnaissance drones, the accumulation of forces, and readiness for invasion.
In response to the attack, the Russian military threatened to “respond adequately,” without, however, explaining what exactly was hidden behind this vague wording. Then the warning was repeated by the Russian Embassy in Bucharest, and after it by the Russian Foreign Ministry itself.
Throughout February 23, official Chisinau did nothing but refute Moscow’s fears. First, the Moldovan Ministry of Defense, then the delegation to the Joint Control Commission for the peacekeeping operation, and then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration accused Russia of manipulation, conducting information and psychological operations and spreading fake news.
Only the next day the United States, Ukraine and even Romania joined in the denials. Bucharest, however, distinguished itself: although the Romanians were the last to give their assessment of the situation, they immediately emphasized in loyal media and telegram channels that it was their position that pushed Washington to put pressure on Kyiv and prevent a new war on the Dniester.
Another point of view does not agree with the Romanian version, that it was the noise raised by the Russian side that deprived the Ukrainian operation of surprise and alerted Moldovan public opinion.
And, it must be admitted, in this situation, the public opinion of the average person turned out to be almost the only ally of Russia in Moldova.
Throughout the year, the authorities subject the population of Moldova to daily propaganda bombardments, but failed to make the country's inhabitants hate Russia and Russians.
A year ago, with the very first shot, the political leadership condemned the actions of the Russian Federation and came out in support of Kyiv. Russian information resources were closed, and this cleansing of the media space from disloyal press successfully continued for a whole year. Today in Moldova there are no media outlets independent of Western funding, and with the remaining TV channels on the screen, the population is hammered exclusively with the government’s point of view on what is happening in Ukraine - and this point of view completely coincides with the theses regularly voiced from the US Embassy.
Despite the daily execution of pro-Ukrainian cliches and cliches, only 39% of Moldovan citizens consider the North Military District an “unjustified invasion of Ukraine,” and 54,8% are confident that Russia is fighting the NATO bloc on the territory of Ukraine.
This is evidenced by the data of a recent survey published several weeks ago, conducted with funding from the US Embassy. At the same time, half of those surveyed do not consider Russia a threat to Moldova, and no more than a third of the population is ready to fight against the Russian Federation in the event of a “Russian invasion” of the country. About the same number generally propose to surrender immediately, while the rest suggest remembering neutrality and negotiating.
Moreover, Moldovan society does not turn a blind eye to the corruption problems of its own government and demands that the president go to Moscow and seek new negotiations on gas prices. It cannot be said that such distrust and contempt for the ruling authorities was unfounded. Moldova is the only country neighboring Ukraine that behaves as if the battles are taking place right on its territory.
The state of emergency declared by parliament has been going on in the country for a whole year, which gives the broadest powers to the puppet government. Speaking out in support of Russia or at least neutrally is prohibited at the legislative level - there is a prison sentence for this.
Among the media, only those who diligently repeat the narratives of Western propaganda have retained licenses. To support this course, the United States recently announced the allocation of several more multimillion-dollar grants.
All this is combined with fantastic inflation of over 30%, rising prices and tariffs, and a catastrophic increase in poverty. Although Russian missiles have never flown into Moldova, the past In the fall, the country went into blackout four times due to the government’s refusal to buy electricity from the Russians.
Outwardly, the situation looks ideal for the emergence of a political opposition, mass protests, the overthrow of the government, the dissolution of parliament and the organization of new elections. In fact, in Moldova there is simply no opposition, especially pro-Russian one.
After years of working with the Moldovan voter, Moscow offers him a rather meager choice of “pro-Russian politician.” This is either Ilan Shor, promoted by part of the Russian media, a major, an accomplice to the largest bank theft in the history of Moldova, a sycophant and a fugitive oligarch, who, if known in the world, is as “Jasmine’s husband,” who is now hiding in Israel.
Or the ex-president of Moldova Igor Dodon, who is currently facing a criminal case for receiving a bribe for voting in parliament. After 10 years of Russian investment, financial and technical assistance to him and his Party of Socialists (PSRM), Dodon has not only lost power, but is also actively disintegrating the party that once ensured his political career. Moreover, he openly blackmails Moscow, threatening to destroy the PSRM.
Both politicians did not hesitate to collaborate with the fugitive oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc, who reigned supreme over Moldova in the period 2016-2019 and was remembered by the population for his bans on Russian television, anti-Russian rhetoric and lack of taste in clothes.
A year ago, on the day the SVO began, neither Shor nor Dodon openly came out in support of Russia. For a whole year, they avoided talking about the problems of Ukrainian Nazism and militarism, about the threats that this course of Kyiv poses, including to Moldova.
And now, when Ukrainian troops have already gathered virtually at the Moldovan border (and Transnistria is considered part of Moldova), It turned out that there are no people in Chisinau who would sound the alarm. And Moscow certainly doesn’t have its own people in Chisinau.
This time, the Russian Ministry of Defense managed to disrupt the Ukrainian special operation in Transnistria. However, without open and obvious public support for Russia in the Moldovan capital, the pro-Western government of the country will still follow the lead of Kyiv and Washington, even if the instrument of “defeat of Russia” will be the complete ruin of Moldova.
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