© depositphotos / Belish Sandu called Russia the “biggest threat” facing the country.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on September 9 that Moldova must join the European Union to survive Russian aggression. The Eastern European country of 2.4 million people, which shares a 1,200-kilometer border with Ukraine, has been the target of Russia’s hybrid warfare, which includes disinformation, cyberattacks and election manipulation, Politico reports.
“This is why our European path is not just a question of values, it is a question of survival,” Sandu said in her speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, adding that the Kremlin “has used its entire arsenal of hybrid attacks against us.”
Parliamentary elections will be held in Moldova on September 28, and Sandu predicts that the Kremlin will try to influence their outcome.
The President added that “Moscow's goal is clear: to seize Moldova through elections, use it against Ukraine, and turn it into a springboard for hybrid attacks on the EU.”
Moldova applied to join the EU in 2022 and has carried out sweeping reforms in its government, judiciary and economy. But Sandu said the EU should not expect “perfection” from the country before allowing it to progress towards EU membership.
“We are not asking for a shortcut. We are diligently doing our job,” she said, but added that Moldova is in a “race against time” to protect its democracy from Russia.
As a reminder, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia wants to occupy Odessa, including to reach the borders of Moldova. Meanwhile, the country's Prime Minister Dorin Recan emphasized that Russia, in addition to establishing a pro-Russian government there, wants to deploy 10,000 troops in the unrecognized Transnistria, which borders the Odessa region.
