The US has pledged over £100million to help bolster Moldova’s energy security and ability to fight off Russian disinformation in the run-up to crucial elections in October.
The Kremlin has made no secret of its opposition to Moldova’s current political leadership, which has ambitions of forging closer military and economic ties to the West.
Russia has launched a concerted disinformation campaign against the country in an attempt to undermine its pro-Western government and democratic institutions.
Some security experts fear Putin could even be preparing a pretext to invade the country as he seeks to assert Kremlin control over “historical Russian territories”.
On a brief visit to the country, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken promised £106 million in aid.
The US diplomat said £66million would go towards developing Moldova’s energy infrastructure.
Thirty-nine million would be earmarked to transforming the energy and farming industries and deterring Russian disinformation and interference.
“That in turn will bolster the ability of Moldovans to resist Russian interference, to hold free and fair elections, to continue down the path to the European Union and Western integration, to create more economic opportunity,” Blinken said.
“One of the other things that’s so important is sharing information about disinformation and misinformation, which is one of the most potent hybrid tools that Russia uses — and that’s something that we are doing.”
Moldova, which has a population of around 2.5 million, was previously dependent on Russia for its natural gas supplies.
It faced a severe energy crisis after Moscow dramatically reduced supplies in the winter of 2022.
Moldova’s energy woes worsened that year after it suffered temporary blackouts because its Soviet-era energy systems remained connected with Ukraine’s, which were being destroyed by Russia’s military.
Moldova’s President Maia Sandu thanked the US for its financial support, saying: “We managed to strengthen our energy security from a total dependence on the Russian power resources.
“Today, we source natural gas from several sources including the ones of the United States.”
Russian political interference was clearly evident throughout last year’s local elections.
The head of Moldova’s Information and Security Service said that in 2023 alone, Russia illegally channelled more than £43million, or almost 0.4 percent of Moldova’s nominal GDP, into influencing elections and buying votes in the country.
Officials accused fugitive pro-Russian oligarchs – such as Ilan Shor who was convicted in absentia on fraud charges – of paying millions in euros to stage anti-government protests and commit electoral fraud.
