Russia is no longer a global power center after the collapse of the USSR, but it aspires to regain that status, former Moldovan Defense Minister Anatol Salaru said on the “Realitatea te priveste” program on RLIVE TV. According to him, the Kremlin launched the war in Ukraine to block the country’s NATO aspirations and has similar intentions toward the Republic of Moldova, which it could pursue if pro-Russian governments were installed both in Chisinau and Kyiv.
Salaru argued that Russia wants geopolitical control over the region, including the Danube Delta and the Black Sea, and warned that Moldova is currently “sitting on a powder keg.” If Moscow were to reassert control over the country, he said, democratic institutions would be dismantled and replaced by a dictatorship.
Discussing hybrid threats, Salaru stressed that Russia has used such tactics for centuries. Vadim Pistrinciuc, Executive Director of IPIS and also a guest on the show, added that Moldova began strengthening ties with the West in the early 1990s, with major reforms underway by 2004–2005 — the same period when cooperation with NATO intensified.
Since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Moldova has faced repeated destabilization attempts and hybrid operations, including efforts to influence elections and spread disinformation. Russian propaganda has pushed narratives about Moldova “militarizing,” allegedly to serve as a NATO bridgehead, and falsely claimed that Alliance forces were assembling in Ukraine’s Odesa region to prepare an incursion into Transnistria.
NATO, responding to Realitatea, reiterated that all partnerships reflect the sovereign choices of its partner countries.
Official information shows that NATO supports Moldova in destroying dangerous chemicals, strengthening civil protection, enhancing the defense medical system, modernizing institutions, boosting cybersecurity, and conducting joint training exercises for Moldovan soldiers.