Weekly Roundup: Russian Drones Strike Moldovan Territory
February 13th, 2025
Russian Drones Strike Moldovan Territory
On the night of February 13th Russia launched a massive attack of 140 drones and decoys into Ukraine. This included a mass barrage of the Ukrainian port of Reni directly across the border from Moldova on the Danube. Video of the air defense battle over Reni was filmed from Moldovan territory and can be found online.
The attack resulted in the Reni-Giurgiulești border crossing being evacuated with personnel relocated to the town of Giurgiulești.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that “several” drones entered Moldovan airspace with 2 crashing into fields and detonating in the south of the country. No one was hurt in these explosions and security services responded to secure the sites.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs urgently summoned the Russian ambassador to Moldova to lodge a protest. President Sandu posted a statement on facebook saying:
"The Republic of Moldova has not attacked anyone, we have not claimed any foreign territory, we have not entered into conflict with any other state, we have enshrined neutrality in the Constitution. The Republic of Moldova has promoted and done everything for peace. However, Russian drones and bombs fall and explode in our villages. And we must admit that we do not have the necessary capabilities to defend ourselves from them.
It is very serious that this is happening and it is equally serious that some politicians are betraying their country, stating that we should not even be able to defend ourselves, that Moldova must remain weak and vulnerable in the face of such threats,
We will continue to develop partnerships with European countries and modernize the National Army, so that one day we will be a state that fully ensures the security of its citizens. Authentic neutrality means being able to defend ourselves against the bombs of an aggressor state that reach our territory,"
Following discussions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Russian Ambassador Oleg Ozerov answered journalists questions refusing to acknowledge that the drones were Russian. When confronted with the fact that inscriptions on the drone show them to be Russian Shahed 136 drones he tried to deflect stating that “The inscription can be made by anyone.”
Following this meeting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that they would close the Russian Cultural Center in Chisinau saying:
“In response to these provocations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to unilaterally terminate the intergovernmental Moldovan-Russian Agreement on the establishment and functioning of cultural centers, concluded in 1998. After completing the procedures, the Russian Cultural Center must cease its activities in our country,”
In the course of the attack at least one drone also entered Romanian airspace before veering back into Ukraine. Two Romanian Air Force F16s and two Spanish Air Force Eurofighters were scrambled to intercept.
Romania Slips Deeper into Political Crisis
In Romania President Klaus Iohannis has announced his resignation. He is the first Romanian president to resign and did so in the face of a parliamentary debate scheduled to consider his suspension from office. Far right parties led by the pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu initiated the debate on his suspension claiming that it was unconstitutional for him to remain in his role in a caretaker position pending new elections. This was part of a broader protest against the cancelation of last fall’s presidential elections.
Iohannis called the whole issue “pointless” but chose to resign to avoid additional national embarrassment saying "None of our partners will understand why Romania is dismissing its President when the process of electing a new President has already begun."
Senate President Ilie Bolojan will serve as interim President for 90 days.
President Sandu personally thanked Iohannis for his strong support of Moldova during his term and thanked Romania more broadly for being the country’s top supporter on the path to the EU. She also spoke on the phone with Interim President Ilie Boloian.
Energy (Crisis?) Updates
From February 1st to 10th Energocom purchased 26.5 million cubic meters of natural gas for Transnistria1 with European money. This support was fully financed by the 20 million euros of emergency aid allocated by the European Union. Gas was purchased on the Romanian and Bulgarian energy exchange.
During this time Transnistria did not seem to give a clear answer about their acceptance of the additional EU support promised in phase 2 - and the conditions that came with it. On February 10th Prime Minister Recean announced that they refused the support saying:
"Tiraspol refused. Russia does not allow them to accept European aid, fearing to lose control over the region. The main condition that Tiraspol refused was a gradual increase in consumer tariffs. As a result, they will not be able to receive European aid. This means that the residents of Transnistria will continue to live in a state of unpredictability and worry about gas supplies,"
"The Hungarian Scheme"
At the same time as the refusal of EU aid was announced, Chisinau and Tiraspol agreed on what is being called “the Hungarian scheme” of gas supplies for the region. Under this scheme a Hungarian company called MET Gas and Energy Marketing AG will provide gas to Transnistria and transport it to the Moldovan border. The gas will be paid for by a Dubai registered company called JNX General Trading LLC. This gas will then be transited across Moldova (and / or Ukraine) by MoldovaGaz which will be paid in advance by Transnistrian energy companies. The current agreement provides for 3 million cubic meters per day for 16 days starting on February 13th.
Transnistrian “leader” Vadim Krasnoselsky stated that "the Hungarian supply became possible with Russian credit and functional support."
This agreement was approved by the Chisinau government which imposed some conditions on the Transnistria region. Prime Minister Recean explained this saying:
"Both companies were checked. MET Gas and Energy Marketing AG is a natural gas trader on the European market. JNX General Trading LLC was not found to violate national and international legislation. In addition, no Moldovan citizens were found among the owners of these companies," …
“We will allow this transit, and Tiraspol will take the following steps: release political prisoners, solve the problems of the lyceum in Rybnitsa, keep Moldovan Public Television in its broadcasting network and dismantle the checkpoints installed in 2022,”
The Prime Minister has also stated that this gas is not intended for Transnistrian heavy industry stating:
"What I said very clearly is that, the moment we determine that industries are starting to function, I am specifically referring to large industry, the Government will immediately intervene with the taxation of deliveries , in such a way as to protect economic agents on the right bank of the Dniester,"
As of today this process is functioning and the gas is flowing.
Complying With the Conditions
The Bureau of Reintegration initially named 5 “illegally detained prisoners” whose release was being demanded by Chisinau. This list was quickly amended to 7 persons with the statement that “Every person must be ensured the right to access to justice in courts established by law.”
On February 11th the first “illegally detained prisoner” was released. His name is Anton Malyshev and Promo-LEX lawyer Vadim Vieru stated that he had been “kidnapped” and had served 2 years of illegal detention in “inhumane conditions.” He was serving a sentence of 21 years of imprisonment on drug charges that lawyers allege were trumped up.
The initial joy of the first release of a political prisoner took a rather dark and confusing turn when Anton Malyshev was immediately arrested upon entering Moldovan territory. Police noted that he had escaped a previous 8 year prison sentence on drug trafficking charges and that they were surprised to discover that he was in Transnistria to “commit the same crimes.” A police spokesman stated: “we appreciate that the person was released, since we will be able to hold him accountable for his actions.” I’ll leave some analysis on this strange happening in a footnote2.
Following this a second “illegally detained prisoner,” Stanislav Menzarara was released. Menzarara was “kidnapped” in October 2022 and accused of espionage along with 3 other Moldovans who were subsequently released.
Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration also announced on February 12th that there are signs of 33 illegal checkpoints being dismantled in Transnistria according to the conditions. This has not yet been confirmed. These checkpoints are internal and do not represent the multiple illegal “border” checkpoints along the river. Most or all of the checkpoints under discussion were put up after the 2022 bombing of the KGB headquarters that we wrote about at the time.
Transnistria is Managing the Fallout of the Crisis
Even though the heat is back on in the region things are not all well and they are not back to business as usual. Residents are coping with major mold damage to homes all throughout Transnistria caused from the long periods without normal heating. The MGRES power plant announced that they are selling 3 locomotive engines in order to pay salaries for their employees. The plant acknowledged that this short term solution will hurt their long term operations. And the regional “authorities” have tacitly acknowledged that the era of unlimited free energy is over by repealing regulations on crypto mining that had leveraged the arbitrage of free energy to make bitcoins.
So even though the acute period of crisis if over, the long term viability of Transnistria remains in question - and what follows the “Hungarian scheme” remains unknown.
Justice Reform
The “freeze” on American foreign aid and subsequent destruction of USAID as an agency has impacted Moldova’s vetting process. Parts of this process and some external advisors were supported by USAID and the sudden halt to financing left things unclear. President Sandu spoke to the press on February 7th saying that the country was seeking additional EU support to continue vetting but that it had paused as they sought clarity. She also noted expressed some frustration with the speed of the process last year stating:
“I think it would be better if the assessment of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office employees could be completed by the end of 2024, as planned, because then we would already have an institution in which people would already know what will happen next and could focus on priority cases,"
On February 12th Justice Minister Veronica Mihailov-Moraru announced that vetting would resume with support from the European Commission.
In an additional bit of good news for the Moldovan justice system, Interpol has revised its decision and agreed to put Vladimir Plahotniuc on the international wanted list. Plahotniuc, whose whereabouts are unknown but has been reported to be in Turkey, now faces arrest and extradition by any Interpol country.
That’s all for the good news.
An Anti-Corruption Food Fight
This week the long running tensions between Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Veronica Dragalin and the government, parliament (and kinda everyone) once again erupted into the headlines. The government signaled in recent weeks that they were considering merging the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS) and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Office (PA). The proposal to combine these offices under the control of the Prosecutor General is largely seen as designed (at least in part) to oust Dragalin and the PCCOCS director who are both in the middle of their appointed terms.
In recent days Dragalin has done many interviews suggesting that those in power are protecting themselves from her ongoing investigations. She stated that she is currently investigating people who hold public office and that "I don't think it's a coincidence that the merger will result in the elimination of the position I hold."
In one TV interview she read from an email she sent to PAS MP Vasile Grădinaru who had recently claimed that no one from the authorities was trying to interfere with her office. She wrote to him saying “you claim that no one from PAS contacts me directly by phone to influence investigations, this is not true. I have saved several examples of messages attached to this email.” She did not elaborate in followup questions about what she had attached to the email.
Later Dragalin accused the Ministry of Justice of "sabotaging the extradition procedure of Ilan Shor." In this interview she claimed that in June 2023 she had filled out the extradition request according to an EU template and consulted it with Israeli prosecutors. According to the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor, the Ministry, which is responsible for sending this official request, changed the format and intentionally slow rolled the process by introducing non-standard elements. She claims that the Israeli side finally approved the request in 2025 (which it still isn’t clear that they have) when her original version was sent. Dragalin claims that she only was able to force movement on the extradition by sending letters to the President and Prime Minister where she made it clear that "I don't trust the other state institutions."
The Ministry of Justice categorically rejected these accusations and shared a list of all the steps they have taken demanding Shor’s extradition with journalists.
Prime Minister Recean was asked what he thought of Dragalin’s media blitz and he stated:
"I will not comment on the political statements of a prosecutor. The expectation is very simple: files, evidence, prison. Everyone thinks they are tired of the stars in the justice system. Everyone simply wants justice to be done. I recommend everyone to go to the countryside, talk to citizens and ask them what they think about how the act of justice is carried out,"
President Sandu also gave an interview where she expressed her displeasure with the situation in the justice system saying:
"I do not want to single out only the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, because this problem exists in other institutions as well, but the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office is responsible for combating political corruption. Now we see that organized crime is increasingly involved in political activities. There are problems in the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office as well, I am sure that there are people working against this state. "
She additionally pointed out that Shor’s presidential candidate Victoria Furtuna was serving in the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s office before going into politics.
It is worth nothing that we have written about the public fights (often on facebook) that Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Veronica Dragalin has gotten into. Specifically with parliament, the vetting commission, and with the Academy of Sciences and a University.
The Proposed Merger Progresses
This week PAS MPs presented their proposed merger of the PCCOCS and PA to parliament for consideration. The bill envisions folding both existing specialized prosecutors offices into a newly formed “Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime Prosecutor's Office.” This new office would have an interim director selected by the Prosecutor General and would be staffed only by prosecutors who have already undergone the vetting process. Other prosecutors from the old offices would be transferred to different territorial offices. As to Dragalin? The draft is unambiguous:
"the mandate of the chief prosecutors of the two specialized prosecutors' offices and their deputies, including interim prosecutors, shall terminate by law."
If passed the law will come into full effect in 30 days.
Political Updates
Here’s a roundup of the top politics stories of the week:
The prize for first Moldovan politician to get close to Donald Trump goes to… Valeriu Ghilețchi? Mr. Ghilețchi attended the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC and while he did not get to meet Trump he heard him speak and was able to get a selfie with Trump in the (distant) background. Ghilețchi has held office in various parties over the years and unsuccessfully run for president multiple time. It is not clear how he attended the invite-only event but Ghilețchi is a prominent leader in the Evangelical Christian community in Moldova and likely was included in that capacity.
Irina Vlah has called on the new Alternative Block to sign a pact on not making a coalition with PAS in the future. This comes on the heels of Mayor Ceban answering a question about whether the block would enter coalition with PAS saying: “We allow for such a scenario and will work to ensure that this scenario is one of the main ones.” Mark Tkachuk, another leader of the Alternative Block called reporting on this statement a "falsification" and said that no clear statements from leaders of the block were made.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) has requested that the Ministry of Justice dissolve the Chance Party. The CEC cited "systematic violations of the law" by the Shor-linked party relating to their financial disclosures and other materials required for standard audits. Chance Party leader Alexei Lungu led a protest against this action outside the US Embassy in Chisinau calling the action political persecution. Party members held up signs saying: "USAID - a partner in persecution?" "Mr. Trump, save Moldova from Sandu's dictatorship" "Freedom of speech is dying under a US-backed regime" and "PAS is using US taxpayers' money to persecute the opposition." Lunga repeated false stories that USAID was responsible for funding PAS and delivered a letter addressed to Trump to the Embassy.
DOGE defunds the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). On February 12th “The Free Press” reported that DOGE ordered the Treasury to stop all funding to NED cutting off the congressionally appointed budget of $315 million dollars which is spent on promoting grassroots democracy around the world. This funding is primarily allocated via the International Republican Institute (IRI), National Democratic Institute (NDI), Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and the Solidarity Center. All 4 groups have laid off staff and begun the process of shuttering global operations as of the time of writing. IRI, NDI and CIPE were all very active in Moldova and this will result in the loss of jobs as well as the closure of programs supporting reform efforts, training of political activists, independent media, anti-disinformation campaigns and much more. This comes on the heels of a Trump-affiliated think tank publishing a paper on February 7th which claimed that NED programs undermined American democracy and were responsible for starting the war in Ukraine3.
Disclaimer: As we’ve done before with articles about Transnistria we will sometimes say “Moldova” and “Transnistria” as a way to indicate the parts of Moldovan territory controlled by Chisinau and Tiraspol respectively. This is easier for most readers than “left bank” vs “right bank” and is simply a convienent shorthand. All territory in question is Moldova.
This situation highlights an important fact - “illegally detained prisoner” refers firstly to the fact that Moldova does not recognize any Transnistrian courts or justice functions at all. This is not the same as “political prisoner” - though there are MANY of those in Transnistria. It’s also important to note that an “arrest” by the Transnistrian “authorities” is therefore considered a “kidnapping.”
It is completely unclear, and from a PR standpoint extremely hard to understand, why Mr. Malyshev wound up so high on the list of priorities. One would think that the first 5 (or 7) persons whose release was demanded would be selected to send a political signal about democracy, human right, etc. Instead a drug trafficker was moved from one prison to another in a very public way. It seems that there’s always another opportunity to miss another opportunity.
The basic argument here is that by promoting democracy people in Ukraine started wanting a democracy. Russia disagreed and therefore war. They also make false claims about supporting coups and revolutions which NED leaders spent the last few days trying to rebut. Now that they are all being fired they can presumably take a break from trying to set the record straight. Sigh…
Hmmm...since we've known Valeriu Ghilețchi since we lived in Moldova in the 1990s (when he was in parliament) I guess it is sorta weirdly cool that I now know someone who has been in the same room with Mr. T...