Russian intelligence agencies have intensified subversive activities in Moldova, using local political structures to destabilize the country. The FSB and SVR are coordinating operations aimed at escalating the crisis, particularly in Gagauzia, according to experts from the Robert Lansing Institute.
On March 25, the head of Gagauzia, Evgeniya Gutsul, was detained at Chisinau Airport while attempting to leave the country. The prosecutor's office accuses her of receiving funding from Russia through the fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor and is seeking her detention. Gutsul represents the banned 'Shor' party, which is connected to criminal investigations into illegal financing. Shor himself was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison in 2017 for his involvement in embezzling a billion dollars from Moldova's banking system.
According to FSB documents from 2020, the Russian security service played a key role in transferring strategic assets to Shor, including shares in Chisinau Airport, which eventually ended up with Russian businessman Andrei Goncharenko. Investigators claim that Gutsul regularly transported Russian money to Moldova and coordinated the activities of the party, receiving over 42.5 million Moldovan lei in funding from an organized criminal group.
RLI analysts believe that the FSB may have deliberately provoked Gutsul's arrest to initiate mass protests against the Moldovan government. According to their data, since 2016, Russia's intelligence operations in Moldova have been overseen by General Dmitry Milyutin, Deputy Head of the FSB's Fifth Directorate. His activities are closely tied to Igor Chayka, the son of Russia's former Prosecutor General, who recently took the post of Deputy Head of Rossotrudnichestvo. Experts believe his appointment confirms Russia's strategy to destabilize the region.
Together with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, Chayka developed plans to discredit Moldova's President Maia Sandu and return the country to Russia's sphere of influence. SVR head Sergey Naryshkin stated that Moldova is following the Ukrainian scenario, indicating coordinated actions by Russian intelligence services to destabilize the situation.
A protest in support of Gutsul has already been organized, with participation from local authorities, members of the People's Assembly, and the opposition block 'Victory.' According to analysts, there is a high probability that Russian agents may attempt to seize administrative buildings in Gagauzia, which would lead to further escalation of the conflict.
