Russia has been accused of plotting a campaign of sabotage to overthrow the government of Ukraine's neighbour, Moldova.
Key points:
- Moldova's president has echoed claims made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russia is plotting to overthrow its government
- The Moldovan claims came just days after the country's prime minister resigned in part due to an ongoing energy crisis
- Moldova is a former Soviet state that is seeking to improve its ties with the West and join the European Union
Details of the alleged plot were revealed by Moldova's President Maia Sandu in the capital, Chișinău, on Monday.
The briefing came a week after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country had intercepted plans by Russian secret services to "destroy" Moldova, claims that were later supported by Moldovan intelligence officials.
It also came days after Moldova's pro-Western prime minister resigned on Friday, following months of political turmoil caused by skyrocketing energy costs and other crises.
Ms Sandu said Russia's plans allegedly involved using external saboteurs to put the nation "at the disposal of Russia" and derail its aspirations to one day join the European Union.
There are concerns that Russia is attempting to use the landlocked country in its war against Ukraine.
What is Russia accused of doing?
Ms Sandu told reporters that Russia's plan involved:
- The use of saboteurs with military training, camouflaged in civilian clothes, to stage attacks, including on state buildings, and take hostages
- The overthrow of the country's government and the installation of a puppet regime
- An alliance between criminal gangs and two Moldovan oligarchs who are currently in exile. Both men last year were sanctioned by the US and the UK.
The president said the country's Security and Intelligence Service (SIS), working with police, had foiled "several cases of organised criminal elements and stopped attempts at violence" late last year.
What has the Kremlin said?
On Tuesday, Russia's foreign ministry rejected Ms Sandu's allegations, calling them "completely unfounded and unsubstantiated".
A statement from the ministry blamed Ukraine for stirring tensions between Russia and Moldova, saying Kyiv was trying to draw Moldova into "a tough confrontation with Russia".
How has the war in Ukraine affected Moldova?
Since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, Moldova, a former Soviet republic of about 2.6 million people to Ukraine's south-west, has sought to forge closer ties with its Western partners.
It was granted EU candidate status last June, on the same day as Ukraine.
But over the past year, the country has faced a string of problems:
- A severe energy crisis, after Moscow dramatically reduced gas supplies
- Skyrocketing inflation
- Several incidents in recent months involving missiles that have traversed its skies, and debris that has been found on its territory.
Moldova's pro-Western prime minister Natalia Gavrilita resigned on Friday in the wake of those crises, having endured months of street protests organised by the party of exiled opposition politician Ilan Shor.
Defence adviser Dorin Recean has been nominated by Ms Sandu to become the next prime minister, and he is expected to win parliamentary approval.
He says he plans to continue to pursue membership of the European Union for Moldova.
What are Moldova's ties to Moscow?
Moldova was once part of the Soviet Union, before declaring its independence in 1991.
It is one of Europe's poorest countries, with a population of about 2.6 million people.
The country has lurched from one political crisis to another, often caught in limbo between pro-Russian and pro-Western sentiments.
In recent years, Moldova has seen widespread disillusionment with post-Soviet politics, and an exodus of hundreds of thousands of its citizens seeking a better life abroad.
In 1990, a separatist war broke out in its eastern region of Transnistria, which borders Ukraine.
A 1992 ceasefire deal saw a contingent of Russian troops stationed in Transnistria as nominal peacekeepers.
Since then, the region has insisted it is not part of Moldova, and most of its 470,000 people speak Russian, although residents identify themselves as ethnically Moldovan, Ukrainian or Russian.
What happens next?
Ms Sandu vowed: "The Kremlin's attempts to bring violence to our country will not succeed."
She is pushing Moldova's parliament to pass new laws to give authorities the "necessary tools to combat more effectively the risks to the country's security".
Considering the plans were intercepted and announced by Mr Zelenskyy last week, political scientist Costin Ciobanu, from the Royal Holloway University of London, says it is likely there has been "huge pressure" on Moldovan authorities to explain further.
He says Ms Sandu going public could also be a pre-emptive bid to thwart "Russia's attempts to destabilise Moldova", in the same way Western officials called out the Kremlin's war plans before its invasion of Ukraine.
Moldovan authorities also confirmed that another missile from the war in Ukraine flew through its airspace on Friday.
A US State Department official later that day said Washington had "no indication" of a direct military threat by Russia to Moldova, but the White House's national security spokesperson on Monday called reports of the alleged plot to overthrow the government "deeply concerning".
ABC/AP/Reuters