Experts from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that the Kremlin is conducting information operations against Moldova, very similar to those that preceded the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.

"The timing of Russia's possible hybrid operation in Moldova is unclear, but the Kremlin is creating informational conditions for its implementation soon," the February 14 ISW report notes.

Among such preconditions, experts named a number of statements by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia,

, about the control over the government of Moldova by the United States and the termination, under the influence of America and the European Union, of the negotiation process in the "5+2" format with the participation of Russia, which must be resumed in order for 200,000 citizens Russians living in Transnistria did not become "victims of another Western adventure".

Sergei Lavrov also said that the government of Moldova has stopped state subsidies to regions such as Gagauzia, which oppose the European integration of the country. He compared this situation to how the West "refused" to give

time to revise the agreement on the association of Ukraine with the European Union.

Earlier, the Kremlin accused Ukraine of ignoring the so-called "Minsk agreements". Russian President

has repeatedly stated that the reason for the military invasion of Ukraine was its refusal to comply with the "Minsk Agreements".

ISW believes that these statements indicate that the Kremlin and pro-government Russian bloggers are creating informational conditions to justify Russian efforts to destabilize the situation in Moldova. Among such conditions, the experts also mentioned statements that the Moldovan government is putting "economic" pressure on Transnistria and is actively "militarizing" in order to "forcibly integrate Transnistria into Moldova."

Moldovan authorities recently accused Russian peacekeepers in Transnistria of conducting exercises and using weapons in the Moldovan security zone, which violates the protocols of the OSCE Joint Monitoring Commission.

What preceded

Since 1995, Russia has kept its peacekeeping forces on the territory of Transnistria. Every year in October, their rotation took place through the territory of Moldova and Ukraine.

After Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, Moldova closed its airspace to Russian military cargo. This also became impossible through Ukraine - the Ukrainian authorities closed their airspace, introduced martial law and completely stopped cooperation with Russia.

The last rotation took place in October 2021.

Some Ukrainian military experts claimed that Russia tried to rotate its troops in Moldova through European countries under the guise of tourists, and spare parts for military equipment, which could be delivered under the guise of dual-use goods, were allegedly sent within the framework of a special economic agreement with Moldova.

During Russia's last official attempt to conduct a rotation through Moldova at the end of 2022, Chisinau banned a number of Russian servicemen from entering Moldovan territory, who, according to them, represented the Operational Group of Russian troops. The Moldovan authorities consider her stay in Transnistria to be illegal. Then the rotation problem was partially solved with the help of conscription of Russian citizens living in Transnistria.

The Moldovan authorities have repeatedly demanded that Russia withdraw its troops.