Moldovan police said Monday that they raided more than 250 locations across the country in a sweep against suspected Russian-backed efforts to destabilize the country, coming less than a week before parliamentary elections.
The police said the raids, which targeted more than 100 people and four prisons, were part of a criminal investigation into alleged plans for mass unrest “coordinated by Russia through criminal elements.”
The country’s police chief, special cases prosecutor and security service head were expected to announce the results of the raids later on Monday.
Igor Dodon, a former president and co-leader of the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc, said some of his fellow party members were targeted in the raids.
Moldova, a former Soviet republic of 2.6 million that borders Ukraine and Romania, will hold parliamentary elections on Sunday.
President Maia Sandu, a vocal critic of the Kremlin and a leading advocate of Moldova’s EU bid, has long accused Moscow of trying to destabilize the country. The Kremlin has denied meddling in Moldova’s domestic politics.
Bloomberg reported on Monday that it had obtained documents outlining alleged Russian plans to organize protests, run disinformation campaigns and recruit Moldovan voters abroad.
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