Peter Stano, spokesperson for the European Commission, said that the referendum on Moldova joining the EU which was held alongside elections in the nation, was a result of “unprecedented” interference by Russia and its agents.
Stano stated on October 21 at a press conference in Brussels that “this vote was conducted under unprecedented interference and threats by Russia and its agents, aiming to undermine the democratic processes in the Republic of Moldova.”
On Oct. 21, voters were almost evenly split on a referendum aimed at enshrining the path of the country to European Union membership in the Moldovan Constitution.
The preliminary results show that pro-EU voters have won by a razor thin margin, with 50.42% of votes against 49.58% “no” votes, according to the country’s Electoral Commission.
In the presidential election, the first round of voting was held on October 20. The Moldovan President Maia Sandu won with 42%, and will be going to a runoff on November 3.
Sandu, a pro-EU candidate, will face off with her main opponent, Alexandr Stoianoglo. Stoianoglo is a member of a pro-Russian Party of Socialists who received roughly 26% of votes in the first round.
Stano said the EU is closely following the referendum in Moldova and the presidential elections and will give an “official response” when the final results are announced.
The spokesperson said that attempts to disrupt voting in Moldova began “not weeks, but months” before the 20th of October. Stano also mentioned the vote-buying efforts and propaganda spreading by Russia and its proxy.
“This is a long-term effort by Russia and its proxies, not only in Moldova but also against our countries. They have no boundaries. “We, as the European Union… are bound by certain principles and laws, but Russia, its actors, and its proxies, do not respect this,” he said.
Moldovan authorities claim that more than $15 million in Russian funds were reportedly funneled to 130,000 Moldovan voters who were instructed on how they should cast their votes in the election. Ilan Shor a Moldovan/Israeli tycoon accused of laundering money and orchestrating a network, despite his own political parties being banned.
Sandu, an anti-Western politician has also accused Moscow of plotting a coup to overthrow the government.
In a joint statement released on June 13, the U.S.A., U.K. and Canada warned against possible Russian interference in Moldovan elections.
“North Korea sending soldiers to fight alongside Russia’s troops in Ukraine would be a significant escalation,” NATO secretary general Mark Rutte stated on social media after a conversation between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
On the morning of October 21, Russia struck the residential area in the city and damaged 30 buildings.
Lloyd Austin, the Pentagon chief, said that ammunition, military equipment and weapons would be included.
In September, the largest government reshuffle since World War II took place. Herman Smetanin became the new head of the Strategic Industries Ministry.
The Air Force reported that Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 59 of 116 Shahed type attack drones launched overnight by Russia. According to reports, 45 drones “lost” in Ukraine and 10 others were still in the airspace of Ukraine at the time the publication was made.
The General Staff of Ukraine‘s Armed Forces announced that Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian Buk M3 air defense system over night on October 21.
The election results were tainted with allegations of Russian interference. Moldovan lawmakers claimed that Moscow spent millions in a campaign against Maia Sandu, the pro-Western incumbent and voted down the EU referendum.
According to reports, the attack involved seven tanks and eleven infantry fighting vehicles. Ukrainian forces destroyed seven pieces of Russian equipment.
Interfax, a state-controlled news agency, reported that Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Russian media said: “We see a great deal of contradictory data.”
According to the National Guard of Russia, Russian troops regularly conduct mechanized attacks near Selydove. These assaults involve three to five armored vehicle.
Yonhap reported that South Korea summoned Georgy Zinoviev as the Russian ambassador to Seoul on October 21 to protest the dispatching of North Korean troops in support of Moscow’s war with Ukraine.
According to internal documents of the agency, the IAEA has signed at least two agreements for research in Crimea that included fieldwork. The deals were signed from 2016 to 2019, and the first deal was reportedly extended during the summer of 2019.
A military intelligence source told Kyiv Independent that Russian authorities had detained 18 North Koreans who had abandoned their positions in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.
Dmitry Rogozin is a Russian official who heads the Russian occupation in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. He said that the Black Sea Fleet was forced to change its registration, because their large ships were large targets for the enemy unmanned boats.
According to Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR), Russian Pilot Dmitry Golenkov sustained multiple head injuries. These were probably caused by a heavy hammer.
CNN reported that U.S. defense secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine on October 21 to ensure continued support before the uncertain U.S. presidential election.
According to regional authorities, the wounded include seven women ranging in age from 22 to 83 years old and five men ages 21 to 38. The attack caused some areas of the city to lose electricity.
This includes 1,710 casualties that Russian forces have suffered in the last day.
The memoir “Patriot” was compiled from the prison diaries of the Russian opposition leader and edited in part Yulia Nalnaya. The book will be published in 22 languages including Russian.
According to the drone’s creators, the Wild Hornets Group, “Sting” is able to fly altitudes of up to 10,000 feet with speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour. It is the world’s first drone designed to specifically target Russia’s Shaheds arsenal.
In his evening address of October 20, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Russia had launched 6,130 drones of the type Shahed since 2024.
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