"They taught us how to use radio stations and showed us some rallies of Russian groups. They explained how they work, why, and they talked about how not to work," this is part of the testimony of a Moldovan citizen who admitted to Moldovan police that he had been to Serbia in training camps organized by Russian operatives.
The testimony can be seen in a video released by the Police of the Republic of Moldova on September 26. As they stated, the video shows "military camps in Serbia organized by the Russian secret service."
Previously, on September 22, Moldovan police raided 250 locations and people. 74 people were arrested and a large amount of money, illegal weapons and ammunition was found.
Moldovan authorities said the action was carried out as part of an investigation into an alleged plan to destabilize the country ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for September 28, "coordinated from the Russian Federation, through criminal elements."
Radio Free Europe (RFE) analyzed an eight-minute video released by Moldovan police presenting the evidence collected and the statements of the suspects.
"I can't say exactly (how many of us were there). We had three cars. In the car I was in, there were eight people. So, with me," explains the man, whose face is blurred by the makeup, who previously said he was a participant in the training.
"They gave us $300," he says, answering the question of whether they were paid for this training.
Another person speaking to the Moldovan police, whose identity is also being withheld, states that a total of 40-50 people were in Serbia, and specifies that the training included people from the capital of Moldova, Chisinau, and from the Moldovan Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia, located in the southeast of the country.
As he stated, he spent 3 days in Serbia.
Arrest in Serbia
The competent authorities in Serbia have arrested two people on suspicion of committing the criminal offense of organizing participation in a war or armed conflict in a foreign country, the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) announced on September 26th.
It is alleged that LP (1988) and SS (1978) were arrested and are accused of organizing combat-tactical training for citizens of Moldova and Romania, which, as suspected, was aimed at training them to more effectively provide physical resistance to Moldovan police officers in the event of riots during the election day in that country scheduled for September 28.
The ministry announced that LP is suspected of organizing and financing the training, which was conducted in a catering facility near Loznica in western Serbia, and that SS is accused of assisting him in this.
Passport as proof
Among the evidence shown in the video by the Moldovan police, two pages of a passport are also visible, from which it is possible to determine, based on the date stamp, that the group in the car entered Serbia on July 21st through the Batina border crossing in the northwest.
The passport shows that the exit was registered at the Srpska Crnja border crossing towards Romania on July 24th of this year.
Incidentally, the video briefly shows two locations that are allegedly in Serbia. One is in a large park where a group of men simulate carrying an injured person, and the other is in a half-destroyed house where people in uniform are seen practicing shooting rifles.
RFE/RL could not independently confirm that these locations are in Serbia.
Moldovan police displayed a large amount of banknotes in various currencies, rifles with Russian markings, ammunition, and camouflage uniforms.
Earlier cases
Namely, the first reports of the existence of camps in which individuals trained young people to cause riots in Moldova were published by the country's police and intelligence agency on October 17, 2024.
A year ago, details were published about the existence of locations in Bosnia and Serbia where Moldovan citizens were being trained in camps in the two Balkan countries by individuals linked to the Russian private military units Ferma and Wagner. At that time, eight people were arrested in Moldova.
As stated at the time, they were suspected of planning to "destabilize" Moldova after the presidential elections and referendum on entry into the European Union on October 20, 2024. The court proceedings in Moldova are ongoing.
According to details from court documents published by BIRN's Detektor portal, one camp was located near the village of Glamočani in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the other in Serbia near the village of Radenka in the east, near the border of Serbia and Romania.
According to publicly available information, no court proceedings have been initiated in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Moldova's elections are held on Sunday.
Moldova is holding parliamentary elections on September 28, 2025, which could determine the direction the country will take in the future.
The ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), led by President Maja Sandu (Maia), advocates a pro-European course, while the main opponents are pro-Russian parties, including the Socialist Party and the Patriotic Bloc, as well as the populist Our Party.
Moldova has been a candidate for EU membership since 2022. For several years, there have been numerous allegations of Russian interference in Moldovan political affairs, including alleged party financing and attempts at destabilization.
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