The chairman of Moldova’s parliament has said that Russia spent nearly €400 million to sway the country’s September parliamentary elections in favor of Russia-friendly candidates.
The elections were widely viewed as pivotal for Moldova, a former member of the Soviet Union and now a candidate country for the European Union, to remain on its pro-European path and not fall back within Moscow’s orbit.
Widespread reports said that Russia invested heavily to interfere in the election campaign, orchestrating large-scale vote-buying, AI-driven disinformation, numerous cyberattacks and attempts at fueling street violence.
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According to the Polish Press Agency (PAP), Igor Grosu, leader of the ruling pro-EU Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), said Monday that Russia had spent hundreds of millions of euros looking to elect politicians dependent on the Kremlin and individuals linked to the criminal underworld.
“This is a hybrid war in which Russia invested nearly €400 million,” Grosu said.
“[Moldova] had become the target of an unprecedented disinformation campaign,” he added, but “Moldovans have resisted this pressure and manipulation, choosing the path of freedom and stability.”
Held on September 28, Moldova’s elections ended in victory for Grosu’s PAS party, which won a majority of 55 seats in the country’s 101-seat parliament. The pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc (BEP) came in second with 26 seats.
Grosu made the comments on Russia’s “hybrid war” during the 4th Crimean Platform in Stockholm, PAP said. The international initiative was launched by Ukraine in 2021 to coordinate global efforts toward the de-occupation of Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.
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