Russia launches campaign to discredit Sandu's victory — ISW
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Russia has launched a large-scale information operation to discredit Maia Sandu 's victory in the Moldovan presidential election. She received 55.33% of the vote.
This is stated in the report of the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Russia has launched a campaign to discredit
The analysts' report notes that pro-Russian parties in Moldova immediately began to question the legitimacy of Sandu's victory. "The Socialist Party of Moldova" called her an "illegitimate president".
Ilan Shor, a Moldovan oligarch with ties to the Kremlin, told Russia's Rossiya-24 TV channel that the opposition allegedly had "evidence" of massive fraud in Sandu's favor.
Former President Igor Dodon also spoke out in an interview with TASS, saying that Sandu's victory was only possible thanks to the votes of the Moldovan diaspora.
"The Russian information space, including milbloggers, picked up on this campaign, claiming that the election results were allegedly controlled by "European bureaucrats" and that Moldovans had no way to influence the outcome," ISW said.
It is noted that Russia systematically tried to influence the elections in Moldova in order to disrupt the referendum on the country's accession to the European Union and prevent Sandu's victory.
Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Maia Sandu on her victory in the presidential election in Moldova. According to him, the choice of Moldovans is a path "to economic growth and social stability".
Local media also reported that this year there was a record voter turnout in Moldova. The most active voters were citizens aged 66-75, and the least active were 18-25.
