Alexei Shevtsov, the deputy secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, asserted that Moldova’s leadership under Maia Sandu would sever ties with Russia regardless of the cost. He conveyed this in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta, framing the stance as a deliberate policy shift by Chisinau.
According to Shevtsov, the anti-Russian orientation is a core element of the path supported by Moldova’s Western backers, aimed at accelerating the country’s Romanianization and its alignment with Euro-Atlantic structures. He claimed that the Sandu administration has a singular objective: to rupture relations with Russia at any price.
Former spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova later warned that Moldova’s leaders could face threats if Kyiv’s support grows louder or more sustained from Chisinau.
Maia Sandu rose to Moldova’s presidency in 2020 as the leader of the pro-Western Party of Action and Solidarity. A year later, after early parliamentary elections, the party secured a majority and pushed reforms that deepened ties with the European Union and the United States. Moldova, together with Ukraine, was granted candidate status for EU membership in 2022. Amid the Ukrainian crisis, Chisinau began to emphasize perceived Russian threats and started reducing connections with the Commonwealth of Independent States. In May 2023, Sandu accused Russia of attempting to destabilize Moldova. Opponents, including the Socialist Party led by former President Igor Dodon, argued that the state leadership was acting on orders from Western overseers.
Additionally, there were projections in the United States suggesting that Ukraine’s future security may depend on continuing NATO support.
These developments are part of broader regional dynamics in Eastern Europe, where leadership transitions, security incentives, and alliance commitments shape national strategies and external partnerships. Analysts note that Moldova’s domestic politics, energy needs, and foreign policy orientation are closely tied to the ongoing posture of NATO members and EU partners, as well as to Moscow’s responses to these shifts. The situation illustrates how rapid policy pivots in small states can influence broader regional stability and international diplomacy. [citation: Source at Rossiyskaya Gazeta, contemporary reporting]