Maia Sandu accuses the Kremlin of wanting to “capture” the Republic of Moldova and use Orthodox and Boots to influence the parliamentary elections

“The Russians are targeting the diaspora”, warned the president of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, accusing Moscow of resorting to Orthodox priests for propaganda and the “Matryoshka” boot network to manufacture false news. In an interview for the Financial Times, Sandu said that the Russian Federation intensified its mixture in the electoral processes, regarding the Moldovan voters abroad, on the threshold of the parliamentary elections of September 28, 2025.

The head of the Moldovan state mentioned that Moscow intensified online misinformation campaigns, with the target of Moldovans established abroad.

“The Russians are targeting the diaspora,” said Maia Sandu, stressing that the support of the diaspora was essential for obtaining the second presidential term and for strengthening the pro-European course, according to Agerpres and Moldpres.

The president accused the Russian authorities of using Russian Orthodox priests to spread propaganda and have put into operation the network of Matryoshka boots to produce false content, presented as materials of the international press.

Moscow is trying to “overwhelm our institutions,” says Maia Sandu

Maia Sandu also reminded that last year, false bomb threats were reported at several polling stations abroad, including in Germany, alleged by Russian agents. Moscow would have directed, in the 2024 elections, considerable amounts, equivalent to about 1% of the country's GDP, to influence the electoral process through a network of intermediaries.

In his opinion, Kremlin's tactics have become more sophisticated. In addition to online propaganda campaigns, the Russian authorities would have also resorted to criminal groups in order to generate instability in penitentiaries in the Republic of Moldova, part of a larger strategy for undermining democratic institutions.

“It is indeed a very wide range of tools that Russia uses, trying to overwhelm our institutions,” said Sandu.

Last week, holding a speech in the European Parliament, President Maia Sandu warned that the methods used by Russia in the Republic of Moldova may be replicated in other democracies.

In this context, Maia Sandu stressed that European integration is the only guarantee for the survival of the Republic of Moldova as a democratic state.

“We believe that the European Union should find a solution so that both Moldova and Ukraine take the next steps,” she added.

Maia Sandu qualified the parliamentary elections on September 28 as the “last major challenge” in the Republic of Moldova to accession to the European Union.

Moldovan security services detailed an “unprecedented” attack last year on the country's electoral process, accusing Moscow of channeling huge amounts of money in the former Soviet country to buy votes through an extended network of intermediaries, notes the Financial Times.