Russian embassy in London rejects BBC claims of election interference in Moldova

The Russian Embassy in London has firmly rejected allegations made in a recent BBC investigation suggesting Russian attempts to interfere in Moldova’s upcoming parliamentary elections. 

In a long-worded statement, the embassy described the claims as “baseless” and accused Western powers of manipulating the Moldovan political landscape, Caliber.Az reports. 

“Since 2020, Moldova has been governed by so-called pro-European forces whose policies have triggered severe economic difficulties,” the embassy said. “Public discontent with the current course has become increasingly visible, notably at the 2024 presidential elections and the EU accession referendum. Rather than acknowledging failures and heeding people’s voice, the Moldovan authorities — emboldened by their Western sponsors — have chosen to divert attention by invoking a supposed ‘Russian threat,’ attributing internal woes to foreign interference.”

The embassy criticised the BBC for allegedly omitting Moscow’s responses from its report. 

“Its authors contacted the Embassy and we took the effort to prepare detailed, fact-based answers to their allegations. Yet, the final documentary did not feature any of those,” it said, adding that the statement aimed to provide a “broader picture of the situation ahead of the elections in Moldova.”

According to the embassy, the European Union—not Russia—is allegedly behind disinformation efforts in Moldova. It cited the EU’s announcement on March 11, 2025 of €1.9 billion for the Moldova Reform and Economic Growth Plan for 2025-2027, claiming these funds would be used for payments to certain groups of the population immediately before parliamentary elections. 

“Political analysts call this electoral corruption,” the statement said.

The embassy also pointed to what it described as Western bias in Moldova’s electoral system, noting that 280 polling stations would be opened in North America and Western Europe for Moldovan citizens, compared with only two in Russia and 12 in Transnistria. It claimed Western officials maintain a what it called “pervasive presence” in Moldovan ministries and agencies, with more than 50 visits to Chisinau by European politicians and officials this year alone, openly advocating Moldova’s “European choice.”

Highlighting US involvement, the embassy stated that between 2021 and 2024, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) spent almost $650 million in Moldova, supporting NGOs, independent media, and civil society institutions. It further accused NATO and the EU of transforming Moldova into a logistical hub for supplying Ukraine, citing €3.4 billion of Western aid to Moldova’s defense sector over the past four years and ongoing joint military exercises.

The statement criticised Moldova for restricting Russian-language media and opposition channels while allowing pro-Western media to operate freely. It also condemned the treatment of opposition parties, including the banning of the Shor Party and denial of registration to its successor bloc Pobeda, which the embassy said has a 15–20 per cent support base.

On Moldova’s economic situation, the embassy cited rising debt and poverty, inflation reaching 7 per cent, and a trade imbalance of over $6 billion since President Maia Sandu took office in November 2020.

 “It is therefore obvious why at the referendum in 2024 the majority of Moldovan citizens did not support the ‘European course’ — not because of some alleged Russian interference,” the embassy concluded.

The BBC investigation published on September 21 alleged that a secret Russian-funded network is attempting to disrupt Moldova’s parliamentary elections scheduled for September 28. Using an undercover reporter, the investigation claimed participants were paid to post pro-Russian propaganda and carry out selective polling designed to question the outcome of the election.

The report linked the network to Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU for corruption and alleged Kremlin influence operations, as well as to the NGO Evrazia, which was accused of bribing citizens to vote against EU membership in last year’s referendum. Official polls suggest Moldova’s ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), founded by President Maia Sandu, remains ahead of the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc (BEP).

Moldova’s chief of police, Viorel Cernauteanu, told the BBC: “In 2024 the focus of [Ilan Shor’s] campaign was money. This year the focus is disinformation.” 

Attempts by the BBC to get a response from Shor and Evrazia reportedly went unanswered.

By Sabina Mammadli