A pro-Kremlin regional leader has been jailed in Moldova, marking a major blow to Kremlin influence in the country’s autonomous south.
In response, Russia claimed that Moldova's pro-European government is “repressing dissent,” charging Guțul with “cooked-up charges” due to “pressure on judges.”.
Mihail Popșoi Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova.
Sanctioned, tried, and now jailed, her arrest has become a symbol of Moldova’s push to dismantle Moscow’s influence in Moldova.
Guțul was found to funnel undeclared Russian funds into Moldova from 2019 to 2022 to finance the now-banned pro-Russian Șor Party.
In 1994, a compromise was reached: local leaders accepted Chișinău’s authority, and Gagauzia officially became an autonomous region within Moldova.
After the Șor Party was banned in Moldova, Ilan Șor launched his new “Victory” political bloc in Moldova in April 2024. »