Europe’s weapon against Russian disinformation

Ukraine’s truth-telling about Moscow’s plot against neighboring Moldova shows how to defeat lies and secrecy.

The Monitor's View

One of Ukraine’s strengths against Russia has been truth-telling – about Moscow’s real intent and covert actions, whether in cyberspace or combat zones. Last week, the country was equally forthcoming in helping Moldova, its weaker neighbor with whom it shares a 759-mile border. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia had a specific plan “to break the democracy of Moldova and establish control over Moldova.”

The next day, a Russian missile did indeed fly over Moldovan airspace. Also, Moldova’s prime minister, Natalia Gavrilița, and her government resigned, citing “so many crises caused by Russian aggression in Ukraine,” such as high energy prices, inflation, and an influx of refugees.

Yet Mr. Zelenskyy’s intelligence alert may have temporarily thwarted a Russian plot to control Europe’s poorest country. Moldovan President Maia Sandu quickly nominated her former defense adviser, Dorin Recean, as prime minister while praising the outgoing one. “We have stability, peace and development, where others wanted war and bankruptcy,” said the president, who has led the effort for Moldova to join the European Union.

In recent years, Moldova has made progress in providing accurate information to counter the false narratives spread in Moldova by Russia and pro-Russia oligarchs and politicians in the former Soviet state. The EU, NATO, and the United States have helped beef up Moldova’s cybersecurity and the country’s campaign against disinformation. Pro-Russia television stations have been curtailed. Pro-Russia protests last fall to oust the government failed. And this winter, Moldova has found alternative energy sources in response to Russia’s curbs on gas exports.

“Moscow’s campaign against the Sandu government is a prime example of hybrid warfare,” Iulian Groza of the Institute for European Policies and Reforms told Der Spiegel. “Instead of tanks, the Russians are using energy and disinformation.”

In much of Europe, Russia has used lies in an attempt to destabilize democracies, especially in the Baltic states. France has helped lead the EU effort against Russian disinformation.

“We must be driven by the desire to defend and promote access to good-quality information for the greatest number,” said Catherine Colonna, France’s minister for Europe and foreign affairs.

“The first requirement is truth,” she said in a speech last month. “Dialogue is possible only if it relies on a shared vision of truth, realities, and facts. But as we’re all aware, our ability to bring out this shared vision is currently the target of concerted attacks.” In Moldova’s case, a bit of truth-telling by Ukraine may have saved the day.