Election results in Moldova: Analyst explains main risks for Ukraine

Russian attempts to interfere in Moldova's referendum on European integration and presidential elections through vote-buying pose significant risks for Ukraine, Artem Filipenko, an expert from the National Institute for Strategic Studies, told LIGA.net.

The first risk, caused by Russian interference, is the potential rise to power of pro-Russian forces in Moldova as part of Russia's broader struggle against the West, the expert said.

The second risk, according to Filipenko, is that Russia will continue to destabilize the situation in Moldova, negatively impacting the security situation in the region.

"The third risk is that an attack on the referendum could give Russia leverage to claim that the idea of European integration is unpopular among Moldovans. This could undermine the authority of the European Union, which is what Russia wants," the expert said.

The fourth threat is the possibility that the Kremlin will effectively test its vote-buying and disinformation technologies in Moldova. "These techniques will be used again in the 2025 Moldovan parliamentary elections," Filipenko stated.

In the Moldovan presidential elections, the incumbent head of state, Maia Sandu, won the majority of votes with 42.45%. Alexandr Stoianoglo, supported by pro-Russian parties, received 25.98%.

Sandu has spoken about "unprecedented" external interference in the voting process.

Russia invested approximately 100 million euros in an attempt to disrupt the Moldovan presidential elections and the referendum on EU accession through disinformation operations and payments to voters, according to Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Cristina Gherasimov.