Moldovan government buildings vandalised with paint of Ukrainian flag colours on Russian orders

The government and Labour Ministry buildings in Chișinău were vandalised on the night of 26-27 September. Two people who received instructions from Moscow have been detained.

As reported by Moldovan news outlet Newsmaker, several people vandalised the building of Moldova's Labour Ministry on Friday night, throwing bottles of paint on the doors and walls. Half an hour later, the same actions took place near the government building.

A video released by Moldovan police shows two men throwing bottles of yellow and blue paint, the colours of the Ukrainian flag, at government buildings.

Police detained two suspects, aged 21 and 20. During questioning at the police station, the detainees revealed that they were part of a group of 20 young men recruited to vandalise the premises of Moldovan state institutions to instigate destabilisation.

hey said they were paid €5,000 for vandalising near the government building alone.

One of the suspects claims that he was also responsible for recruiting young people to be instructed in Moscow about the actions planned in Moldova. He said they were paid €500 a month for this.

The police reported that all 20 people travelled to Moscow by plane with a stopover in Istanbul, where they were met by a Russian citizen and put up in a hotel. The next day, at a training ground near Moscow, they were taught how to organise protests in Chișinău and destabilise the situation at these protests. They were also given money and phones for communication.

After a layover in Antalya, they returned to Moldova, purchased paint, gloves, trainers, and bags, and then shared videos of their vandalism on Telegram as proof of their actions.

The police have identified 13 of the 20 individuals who went to Moscow for training, including a 26-year-old man responsible for recruiting youths to make the trip to Russia.

Law enforcement officers conducted searches at the homes of four individuals, seizing several cans of paint, gloves, bank cards, identity documents confirming their trips to Russia, and other items that may serve as evidence in a criminal investigation.