At 6 pm Chisinau time President Maia Sandu gave a live address to the nation regarding this weekend’s parliamentary elections. She spoke of the dire, existential threat facing the country and I’ve chosen to reprint her address here in full for readers of Moldova Matters.
Dear Moldovans at home and around the world,
You have entrusted me with the responsibility of being the guarantor of the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova. Today, with utmost seriousness, I tell you: our sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and European future are in danger.
The Kremlin is pouring hundreds of millions of euros to buy hundreds of thousands of votes on both banks of the Nistru river and abroad. People are intoxicated daily with lies. Hundreds of individuals are paid to provoke disorder, violence, and spread fear.
I appeal to all citizens: we must not allow our country to be handed over to foreign interests.
Our national interest is peace and freedom. It is economic growth. It is the fight against corruption. It is European integration. It is the development of our communities and of our country.
If Russia gains control over Moldova, the consequences will be immediate and dangerous for our country and for the entire region. Every Moldovan will suffer, no matter who they voted for.
Europe would stop at Moldova’s border. European funds would halt at the Prut River. Freedom of movement could disappear. Our land could become a launchpad for infiltration into the Odesa region. The Transnistrian region would be destabilized. These are their plans—and they speak of them openly.
We, the people of the Republic of Moldova, cannot allow peace, the safety of our citizens, and stability in the region to be put at risk. We must keep Moldova peaceful, outside of war, and safe from Russia’s attempts to attack or destabilize other countries.
Russia does not act alone. The Kremlin has accomplices here in Moldova—people who have shown, time and again, that they are willing to sell out their country for money. They have no homeland—only masters.
They do not believe in Russia. They do not believe in Europe. They believe only in money. They want a weak Moldova, with a corrupt justice system that shields them from being held accountable for corruption or treason.
We have already lived through times when those who now buy votes held power. Let us remember how much damage they did to Moldova, and how hard we struggled to remove them from power. After so many sacrifices, after so many generations endured hardship, we have no right to hand our country back to the corrupt and the traitors.
The Kremlin believes that we are all for sale. That we are too small to resist. That we are not a country, only a territory.
But Moldova is our home. And our home is not for sale. It stands on the dignity of our people—you are the bulwark that protects peace and the future of our children.
Our forebears sometimes paid with their lives to defend Moldova. Today, we must defend it with an honest vote and a clear mind.
I have the duty to protect Moldova and to safeguard peace. But without you, I cannot succeed. My strength lies in you.
Dear citizens,
The danger is great, but our strength must be greater. Let us be worthy of our Moldova! Let us not sell it to thieves, nor allow others to sell it! Let us show the world this Sunday that Moldova is not a piece of land to be traded for thirty pieces of silver, but our sacred home.
President Maia Sandu’s address to citizens, September 22, 2025.
From Just Security.org's daily news letter
Russia plans to intervene in Moldovan elections and disrupt the Moldovan government’s plan for EU membership, according to documents seen by Bloomberg. The documents show that Russia intended to employ Moldovans abroad to vote, stage disruptive protests, and begin a widespread disinformation campaign on social media. The strategy was agreed in spring and coordinated directly by the Kremlin in order to undermine President Maia Sandu’s Party of Action and Solidarity chances of winning on 28 September. Bloomberg has been unable to confirm whether Russia is implementing these plans ahead of the election next Sunday. Alberto Nardelli reports.