Panic Grips Moldova as President Issues Emergency Warning on Vladimir Putin Threat
Moldova has been plunged into unease as President Maia Sandu issued an urgent video address warning of a direct threat from Russia.
She claimed that Moscow, under Vladimir Putin, is attempting to undermine the country’s sovereignty and could turn Moldova into a springboard for an invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
“Today I can say with full confidence that the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and European future of our country are under threat,” Ms Sandu declared.
“The Kremlin is spending hundreds of millions of euros to buy hundreds of thousands of votes on both banks of the Dniester River and abroad.”
She went on to describe how citizens are daily subjected to “intoxication with dozens of false messages” while “hundreds of people are being paid to provoke chaos, violence, and intimidate society.”
The president painted a stark picture of what could happen if Russia’s plans succeed.
Russia is trying to buy the votes of hundreds of thousands, Maia Sandu said in a national address ahead of Moldova’s general elections. The accomplices “have no homeland—only masters. They do not believe in Russia. They do not believe in Europe. They believe only in money” pic.twitter.com/T6KkIbKvwH
— Paula Erizanu (@paulaerizanu) September 22, 2025
“If Russia gains control over Moldova, the consequences will be immediate and will threaten our country and the entire region. All Moldovans will suffer, regardless of who they voted for.
“Europe will stop at Moldova’s border. Freedom of movement may end and our land could become a launchpad for penetration into Odesa Oblast.
“The Transnistrian region will be destabilised. These are their plans and they’re not hiding them.”
Ms Sandu also warned that there are collaborators within Moldova ready to betray their own nation for money. “They do not believe in Russia, nor in Europe – only in money,” she said, urging citizens to resist these forces.
The warning came in the wake of a major law enforcement operation, with over 250 suspects arrested and 74 individuals detained.
Authorities claim these suspects were causing mass uneasiness ahead of the administrative choices set for 28 September.
Sequestered particulars included munitions, security, canopies, disguise gear, and passports.
Investigators say some suspects had travelled to Serbia for training in arms and a special operations outfit aimed at destabilising Moldova.
Moldova’s turbulent history adds to its vulnerability. The region was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Ottoman Empire in 1812 as Bessarabia.
It declared independence in 1918, joining Romania later that year, though Soviet Russia queried this.
The Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic later declared independence following the USSR’s collapse. Moment, Moldova is Europe’s least developed nation by GDP per capita, after Ukraine.
The alarm raised by Ms Sandu highlights mounting pressures in Eastern Europe, with Moldova positioned at the crossroads of European borders and Russian geopolitical intentions.
