Putin's 2026 Target: Undermining NATO and the EU from Within — Through Moldova

Last December, Putin publicly criticized Western leaders for "whipping up hysteria" over the alleged threat posed by Russia. Yet shortly afterward, according to an American newspaper, he secretly convened his top military command and said the exact opposite: Russia's goal for 2026 is to "dismantle NATO and the European Union from within."

Moldova as the Kremlin's Key Target

According to the report, Moldova plays a central role in these plans. Russia has poured enormous effort into knocking the country off its pro-Western course, but so far without success: in last year's parliamentary elections, the party of pro-Western President Maia Sandu — the Party of Action and Solidarity — won, and a year earlier Moldovans voted in a referendum to enshrine the country's EU accession path in the constitution.

Although Moldova belongs to neither NATO nor the EU, the outlet notes that it borders both Ukraine and the territory of the alliance and the bloc at the same time. This, sources say, is precisely why Putin is pushing to seize southern Ukraine — the Odesa region — which would allow occupied territories to be linked to Moldova's Transnistria region, where Russia maintains a contingent of several thousand troops.

According to Stanislav Secrieru, adviser to the Moldovan president on national security and defense, Russia is counting on using the country "as a staging ground for hostile actions against Ukraine and its main financial and defense ally — the European Union."

Vote-Buying and Training Camps in Serbia

Secrieru claims Russia has spent unprecedented sums destabilizing Moldova. According to the report, Russians bought votes, bribing Moldovan citizens to support pro-Kremlin parties, and also organized camps in Serbia where Moldovan men and women trained with firearms, practiced breaching police barricades, and learned how to set buildings on fire effectively. Participants were reportedly paid $400 each — over 8,300 Czech crowns.

Besides the Serbian camps, which were overseen by agents of Russia's GRU military intelligence, similar training took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Moscow, where organizers sought to turn pro-Russian Moldovans into "foot soldiers" in the Kremlin's service.

Attacks on Energy Infrastructure Continue

Despite the fact that the recent elections and referendum confirmed Moldova's pro-Western direction, the Kremlin has not abandoned its campaign. This year, Russian forces struck Ukrainian energy infrastructure that supplies Moldova with electricity, causing water pollution and power outages.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz