In addition to the information presented at the press briefing held by Alexandru Musteața - Director of the Security and Intelligence Service, Viorel Cernăuțeanu - Head of the National Police, and Victor Furtună - interim Chief Prosecutor of the PCCOCS (Prosecutor’s Office for Countering Organized Crime and Special Cases) on the actions of law enforcement institutions taken to counteract destabilization intentions on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, the SIS provides some details.
The Security and Intelligence Service has carried out a series of intelligence and counter-intelligence operations to detect and prevent the materialization of risks to national security. In recent months, the SIS gathered information on the attempts to destabilize the constitutional order in the context of electoral processes in the Republic of Moldova. It was sent to the Prosecutor’s Office for Countering Organized Crime and Special Cases, as well as to the General Inspectorate of Police.
During the operations, it was established that Ilan ȘOR used the "EURASIA" NGO as a cover to fund the trips to Moscow for groups of young people in order to train them on tactics and methods of carrying out protest actions.
Some of these young people were trained by foreign instructors connected to entities associated with the private military structures "Wagner" and "Farm" established by PRIGOJIN Evghenii. At the same time, some individuals were selected for more advanced training in guerrilla camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Most of the trainings took place from the beginning of September until mid-October.
The training program included:
- tactics of national division as well as destabilization of constitutional order;
- tactics of provoking law enforcement bodies;
- use of weapons and other objects to cause non-lethal physical harm;
- mass psychology;
- physical confrontation with law enforcement during protests;
- manufacture and use of fire-starting tools and homemade explosives;
- handling drones with special attachments for explosives or fire-starting tools.
The type of training provided to the citizens of the Republic of Moldova points to offensive actions during mass actions, aimed to cause disturbances and panic. They intended to organize protests and participate in violent, radical and extremist actions on the national territory, in the context of the Republican Constitutional Referendum and 2024 Presidential Elections.
According to data collected by the Security and Intelligence Service, the following foreign citizens are among the coordinators of the mentioned actions: GOLOSKOKOV Konstantin and POTEPKIN Mikhail, the latter is subject to international sanctions. It should be noted that POTEPKIN is known for his connections with PRIGOJIN Evghenii and the Russian organization "FERMA", which was involved in 2023 in financing and organizing destabilizing protest actions in the Republic of Moldova. At the moment, he is responsible for carrying out worldwide malign influence within the entity "AKSON".
Moreover, the SIS managed to identify 11 other foreign nationals who provided assistance to the training camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, acting as instructors:
1. LUCHNIKOV Aleksandr
2. MOSKVIN Serghei
3. SOLOVICH Sergey
4. BEKER Andrei
5. VOLKHONSKI Aleksandr
6. GRUNICHEV Aleksey
7. BUBNOV Gheorgii
8. VILDIAEV Vladimir
9. RUSSU Danila
10. NEKLYUDOV Dmitrii
11. ANGELOV Mircho
We emphasize that ANGELOV Mircho, in addition to being one of the instructors of the guerrilla camps for citizens of the Republic of Moldova, was also involved in carrying out acts of vandalism, such as sabotaging several ATMs in Chișinău, last spring, in order to cause panic in the society.
At the moment, 4 Moldovan citizens trained in guerrilla camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia have been detained by the PCCOCS and remanded in custody for 30 days.
The Security and Intelligence Service jointly with the national law enforcement authorities actively monitors risks and threats to ensure the security of citizens on the national territory. At the moment, the level of danger in the public space is low.