By Anton Filippov | European Pravda
On 28 September, parliamentary elections are set to be held in Moldova, an event Russia is hoping will return Chișinău to its sphere of influence.
Last year’s presidential election and the constitutional referendum on Moldova’s EU accession were conducted under conditions of unprecedented Russian interference.
It has now come to light that, for the purpose of organising mass unrest, individuals were specially trained in two Balkan countries: Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
And although the worst-case scenario was avoided at the time, the story is far from over.
Read more about how Russia is preparing operatives for destabilisation efforts in Moldova in the article by Nataliia Ishchenko, Balkan Observer’s editor: A school for pro-Russian saboteurs: how a coup was prepared in Moldova and what the Balkans have to do with it.
On 17 October 2024, three days before Moldova’s presidential election, Moldovan law enforcement announced they had uncovered and prevented an attempt to destabilise the country. Dozens of searches were carried out, and over 100 individuals trained for this mission were identified.
Moldova’s Intelligence and Security Service (SIS) stated that pro-Russian oligarch Ilan Shor had funded trips for Moldovan citizens to Moscow to receive training in protest tactics.
Some of these “students” were selected for advanced training in the Balkans, specifically in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Serbia, where instructors connected to Wagner and similar private military structures trained them in crowd psychology, weapons handling, making explosive devices and drone operations.
Soon after, information about this Balkan dimension of Russia’s hybrid threat to Moldova was confirmed both in Serbia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In Serbia, a real training camp was discovered near the village of Radenka. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, more precisely, in the Republika Srpska entity, a site was found where the theoretical part of the training had taken place, focusing on organising and dispersing demonstrations.
Bosnian security services even arrested a Russian citizen, Aleksandr Bezrukovnyi, on suspicion of organising these training centers.
Bezrukovnyi was detained based on a warrant issued by Polish law enforcement via Interpol. He was wanted in Poland for his involvement in preparing acts of sabotage.
Meanwhile, the investigation into last year’s attempted election-related destabilisation in Moldova is ongoing.
In April 2025, Moldova’s Prosecutor for Organised Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS) formally charged one man and two women who had undergone training in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. They were arrested at the border in autumn 2024 carrying drones, equipment for dropping explosives and manuals on how to make explosive substances.
A new joint investigation by BIRN and Moldovan outlet CU SENS has uncovered further details.
According to Moldovan citizen Maksym Roshka, who participated in the Balkan training and is now a prosecution witness, trainees were promised $300–500 for 10 days of participation, with payments made in cryptocurrency.
Roshka says he was recruited by Anatoliy Pryzenko, a Moldovan businessman previously linked to a Russian special operation in France.
In late 2023, Pryzenko organised the marking of Jewish homes in Paris with Stars of David, using Moldovan citizens.
In December 2024, the European Union added Pryzenko to its sanctions list for involvement in Russia’s destabilising foreign operations. On 12 February 2025, the businessman-agent was arrested in Chișinău. He was charged with complicity in the case involving the preparation of mass unrest.
The investigation is still ongoing, with Moldovan authorities working to identify all individuals involved.
The Russian intelligence-backed network remains active.
Source: EUROPEAN PRAVDA
