In Moldova, Russia’s interference is felt through energy blackmail and the actions of the Kremlin’s “fifth column.” There are still many Russian agents of influence in the country’s government who are hindering the country’s path to Europe. This is especially true for middle and lower management. Yuri Bricag, the former head of Moldova’s intelligence service, told this in an interview with the Orestocracy project, according to Obozrevatel.
According to him, the President of this country, Maia Sandu, will most likely be able to solve the problem of Transnistria, and this will happen in a non-military way. At the same time, Moldova will not agree to Ukraine’s military assistance in resolving the Transnistria issue.
– What is happening with electricity in Moldova now? Is it Putin’s intrigue or some local supply problems?
– I would like to note that today I am speaking as a private citizen, expressing my own opinion.
Today, the gas supplies that were made under the agreement between Moldovagaz and Gazprom will be reduced by about one third. The reduction in gas supplies leads to a decrease in electricity generation, which depends on the Kuchurganskaya SDPP in Moldova, in unrecognized Transnistria.
We, the people of Moldova, directly feel Russia’s interference in our internal affairs, and they want to put us in our place and twist our arms.
– Do people in Moldova understand that if Ukrainian troops had not withstood the attack in Mykolaiv and Odesa, Russian troops would have been in Transnistria, or even throughout Moldova?
– Yes, we have a feeling that thanks to the Ukrainian people, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, we have the opportunity to live peacefully, and Russian troops did not enter the territory of Moldova. We are indeed very kindred spirits, and above all, we also love freedom and independence. We can love Russians, but everyone should live in their own country. There is a danger that the conflict could spill over into Moldova, but at the same time, we support Ukraine.
– I’m sorry to be so frank, but this is not always the impression you get. The Ukrainian president asked your president for help and, as far as I understand, did not receive any substantive support. Is President Sandu not very decisive as a diplomat and a person who is trying to somehow confront Putin?
– Maia Sandu is a very brave person, a very good president. Of course, it cannot solve all the problems that exist. In the movie The Godfather, it is said: “there are advisors for wartime and there are advisors for peacetime.” Unfortunately, she has chosen advisors for peacetime who are not very good or not very knowledgeable about the problems of warfare.
I can confirm to you that we have quite a few experienced professional officers in various services. But instead of helping our country and our friends, brothers, and neighbors, they stayed away, and people were appointed to positions that could greatly help in making certain decisions based on other principles – party affiliation and personal loyalty. Russia is primarily interested in keeping these structures weak and unable to make decisions.
– If you were an advisor to the president, what policy of support for Ukraine would you propose?
– When I was the head of military intelligence at the Ministry of Defense, we were working on a plan for territorial compatibility or territorial security. It included three countries – Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine. We had to protect ourselves both in terms of information and with anti-missile systems.
I would change a lot. First, I would put professional people in positions that would meet the requirements that exist today. It would show support by transferring weapons that we are not currently using. Because we must now understand that if the Russian Federation invades Ukraine, they will come to Moldova 100%.
– How is Moldova preparing for a potential war?
– I’m not in any position right now, I don’t know what’s going on, but given how sluggishly it’s moving, I think people are not ready to consciously talk about the potential problem that may arise. We are officers, quite a few of us who once held high positions, discussing these issues and saying that it would be nice to take some measures to prepare the population. I’ve been in Kyiv for a few days now and I’m looking at how everything is organized now. When an air raid alarm sounds, where people move to the shelter, food, and so on. Unfortunately, it is not at the level it should be.
– In Moscow, bomb shelters are being prepared, there is already a defense line in the Bryansk and Kursk regions, and you haven’t come to this yet?
– There are plans at the level of some office conversations, but it’s all on paper.
– Is it true that Sandu is focused on Germany?
– I wouldn’t say that Sandu is focused on Germany. I would say that the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, is oriented towards Europe and the values that exist there. How many presidents have you had? Six. How many in Moldova? Six. This shows that there is a change of power, a choice. I can’t say that it is German-oriented, we don’t feel that way internally. We see that our president is working for the good of our country. It may not succeed in everything, but we have the credit of trust and confidence that we will be an independent country and that we will be part of the European Union.
– There are forces and people who would not want this to happen. How tangible is the influence of the Russian “fifth column” and how many influential officials are bought?
– In Moldova, on the one hand, everything is much simpler, and on the other hand, it is much more complicated. Why is it more difficult, because everyone is aware of this problem, but sometimes the ostrich principle is used – sticking your head in the sand. There is a party called Shor, and there is an oligarch who is in Israel, and he has activated his electorate to destabilize the situation in Moldova and to express support for the Russian Federation. It is clear that all this is being done to throw us off the course of European integration and to stir up the situation. That is, people do it all for money.
I know that this used to happen in Ukraine, too, when people were brought to rallies for money. The same thing is happening here, and it’s following the same patterns. And, unfortunately, many people are tired. Not all of those in these tents are there out of love for Shor or other oligarchs who have united to overthrow the pro-European government. People do this because they have no money, they are poor, they have nothing to eat, they have nothing to send their children to school. And it is this poverty that has led to the fact that people who should be in prison are in excellent conditions in other countries.
– If I may, a slightly provocative question. From the point of view of the state’s interests, how can we assume that a person on the run is elected to parliament? How can we avoid any preventive measures to purge all pro-Russian forces and cut off funding channels?
– Pro-Russian officials are still sabotaging the processes in the Republic of Moldova. They are in office. People who still wear “For Russia” and “For Putin” T-shirts and walk around with St. George’s ribbons are being appointed to their positions. Ukraine has gone through this period and has not yet been cleansed, but the processes have begun. Unfortunately, these processes are not happening in Ukraine. These people will not fight and will not do anything to ensure that we take a course towards European integration. They will maintain cooperation with Russia.
– If in percentage terms, how many are sane and how many are pro-Russian?
– The presidential election accurately showed the percentage of pro-European and pro-Russian forces. Maia Sandu won 52 or 53% against Dodon’s 47%. This is a small discrepancy.
– Do you think there are many agents of Russian influence in the Moldovan government today?
– I think if you look at the leadership positions, I can’t say that there are many pro-Russian people there, but there are enough middle managers and below. Because they are sabotaging all the processes leading to European integration, there is a lot of information leakage.
– If the Ukrainian president proposed to send troops into the so-called “Transnistrian Republic” and occupy it, would you agree if it were up to you?
– I would disagree. Let me explain. There is no one to fight with there, 90% of these Russian troops are residents of Moldova who have Moldovan citizenship.
– So why do you still tolerate this “republic”?
– We tolerate it because we had a pro-Russian president, and others don’t really understand how to deal with it. I would have opened 10 or 20 criminal cases on the usurpation of power and transplanted the entire Transnistrian leadership. Others would simply run away, or, as statistics show, when they started drafting Transnistrians into the Russian army, they all safely started getting Romanian and Moldovan passports. So we have a slightly different situation. There is no need to shed blood, there is no need to kill, there is just a need to take the Sheriff organization and put them in jail. That’s the end of it.
– “Do you think Sandu is afraid, or does he not have the heart to do it?
– I think she’s not afraid, she’s likely to do it. But to do this, she needs a strong team, she needs people who could make these decisions, who wanted to implement these decisions, who would have the courage. It needs more good officers who love their homeland, and they will take care of the rest.
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