Yana Stavskaya15:37, 12.03.23

Russian propagandists are already reporting the first clashes between citizens and the police.

The pro-Russian forces of Moldova came out on March 12 to protest in the center of Chisinau. With them, the protesters, mostly of retirement age, took posters criticizing the current government and Orthodox icons.

The well-known sympathizers of Russia, the Shor party, came to the rally. According to Newsmaker , the protesters demand that the authorities compensate their bills.

Between speeches by individuals, the crowd shouts “No to dictatorship” from an impromptu stage.

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At the end, the protesters intend to reach the parliament building, before going around several streets.

Russian propagandists from TASS are already reporting the first clashes between citizens and the police.

https://www.unian.net/player/VR6ZkDYRClashes between police and pro-Russian forces in Moldova

Newsmaker notes that the PACE party and the law enforcement association Scutul Poporului refused to participate in the actions. This happened when the authorities on March 11 warned of possible riots during the protests. Several streets are partially blocked.

UPDATED 15:36. According to the media, the protesters delivered an ultimatum to the Sandu government: by 13:00 on March 13, the authorities must resolve the issue of compensation for energy bills in the winter. What actions the protesters will take next, if these requirements are not met, is not reported in the resolution of the pro-Russian forces.

UPDATED 15:44. The organizers from the stage announced the end of today’s rallies. However, journalists report that the protest has stalled. There are clashes between individual protesters and law enforcement officers.

In October 2022, the Shor party was included in the US sanctions list as a movement associated with Ilar Shor, who fell under US sanctions for organizing riots to undermine the democratic development of Moldova.

The situation in Moldova – Russia’s interest in the protests against Sandu

The day before, CNN, citing US intelligence data, wrote that Russian-connected individuals were trying to provoke an uprising against the Moldovan government .

This was previously stated by Ukrainian intelligence , which transmitted this data to the government of Maia Sandu.

According to the US, Russia is working to weaken the Moldovan government, which seeks closer ties with the European Union. They also see signs that government-linked Russian figures may be teaching anti-government demonstrators in Moldova.

Moscow is also working to spread misinformation about Moldova’s overall stability. For example, recently the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation spread lies about the alleged intention of Ukraine to invade Russian-occupied Transnistria.

(C)UNIAN 2023