Signs of an Impending War?

Apparently, the Western handlers have decided that it is time for Moldova to take the lead in the geopolitical conflict with Russia

Vladimir ROTAR, RTA: Tectonic shifts in the Russia-Ukraine confrontation are being pushed across the continent. Moscow is launching sensitive blows against Ukraine in order to induce its leadership to negotiate. But without much success. After all, the West has long ago voiced its vision of ending the war – namely, beating Russia on the battlefield and making peace on terms of its surrender. And Kyiv is relaying this position unchanged. Therefore, unfortunately, the war continues with increasing bitterness. A new surge of escalation has led to an expansion of potential targets on critical infrastructure. The Nord Stream pipelines were the first to be affected, followed by the terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge. This, in turn, led to the Kremlin’s reaction in the form of the systematic destruction of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. In addition, Russia has taken other measures, such as creating a joint grouping of troops with Belarus and imposing martial law on the annexed Ukrainian territories. So now in this geopolitical chess game it’s time again for a move by the collective West. And it is not excluded at all the probability that we will become a part of the combination of the Western geopolitical grandmasters. It has been clear for a long time that Moldova will be led to a confrontation with Russia one way or another. During the last months, we had the displeasure to observe this in a concentrated form – constant diplomatic demarches, partial joining the anti-Russian sanctions, freezing the interstate relations unilaterally. Added to this was the pressure on politicians and parties that advocate normal communication with Moscow, stigmatization and marginalization of all those who do not share the Western view of the conflict in Ukraine. In parallel, the militarization of the country is accelerating, which the authorities have actually placed on the same pedestal as the process of European integration. Of course, this is happening with the direct support of Western partners, who have expressed their full readiness to provide Moldova with a wide range of weapons, equipment, drones, and various military equipment. The main “sponsors” are the United States, European Union and Romania, which have allocated tens of millions dollars for the rearmament and strengthening of the national army only this year. Besides the money, the component related to the military exercises, which take place regularly on our territory as well as in the field format, mainly in cooperation with the American and Romanian militaries, has increased. In fact, of course, all this is not some kind of quick response to this year’s events – on the contrary, it is the natural outcome, the apogee, if you will, of very long-term processes that have been going on for many years. Both my colleagues and I have written many times about the Moldovan-NATO cooperation programs that started in the mid-2000s, about the expansion of the Alliance infrastructure on our territory. Yes, under the influence of the war between Russia and Ukraine, some things were accelerated accordingly, but the fact is that our republic has long been preparing a “sleeping anti-Russian cell” with the possibility of activation at any moment. And this moment may be much closer than we expected. Whereas previously I believed that our direct involvement in the conflict was not a matter of the near future, now I no longer have such confidence. There are too many signs that the scenario of a “small victorious war” on our territory has not only been written, but also put into action. Especially since in Ukraine the Russian army is quite obviously taking a pause and going on the defensive, at least for the next few months. This is evidenced by the planned abandonment of Kherson with entrenchment on the other bank of the Dnepr, and the large-scale construction of protective structures in the “LDPR” and in other directions. That is, there comes a convenient moment when it is possible to act with relative impunity in Moldova without fear of “retaliatory strikes”. The first signal is the topic of mobilization. It is being actively hyped by the Russian side, including thanks to the sensational prank by Maia Sandu. The Ministry of Defense has denied the existence of such plans more than once or twice, but judging by some indications, there are reasons to doubt the official releases. Moreover, even the head of the Defense Ministry himself, Anatolie Nosatii, says that the option of mobilization can be considered under certain scenarios – for example, a sudden change in the situation in Ukraine or an influx of refugees. The latter reservation is especially interesting given that the authorities are expecting an increase in the flow of refugees fleeing the fighting and those forced to flee their homes due to the lack of light and heat in their homes. We can assume that this wave will be large enough to give the authorities grounds for declaring a special provision allowing for the technical possibility of mobilization procedures. It is almost certain that in reality such mobilization will be limited and will not affect our citizens en masse, and the armed forces will be mainly reinforced by mercenaries and Romanian “volunteers”, who will constitute the main backbone of the “mobilized”. The next step is to find a casus belli and a reason to ask for protection. There shouldn’t be any problems with it – the image of Russia as an aggressor that does not respect the sovereignty of Moldova has been molded for a long time. Interference in internal affairs and attempts at destabilization, which the authorities would consider the street protests, could be a formal reason to assign that status to Russia. The fact that they were inspired by the ‘hand of the Kremlin” was repeatedly stated even at the highest level. We should not forget how much our officials have been traveling abroad recently, and how many contacts they have had directly with NATO representatives. Here we have the meeting of Maia Sandu with Stoltenberg, the participation of the Minister of Defense in the Ramstein format meetings and even the participation of the ruling party lawmakers recently in the Parliamentary Assembly of Deputies of the alliance countries, where they asked for “help to improve the defense capabilities of Moldova in the face of the provocative actions of Russia”. The fact that the U.S. Embassy is in almost constant communication with our leadership, that our officials have begun to take their families abroad, that the Moldovan-Romanian exercises in suppressing street riots are constantly taking place, indicates that the preparations are thorough and that the pieces are already in place and the only thing left is to give the order. How exactly the attack on the Russian contingent on the left bank and local armed groups will begin is still difficult to say. A major provocation, an act of terrorism, or a provoked clash in the Security Zone cannot be ruled out. Given the already heated situation there, it would not be very difficult. And then the whole pre-prepared “war machine” will go on the road, possibly with the participation of Ukraine. Still, I have a hunch that there are reasonable people in the ruling party who would not want the country to take part in this adventure. Perhaps even Maia Sandu has no desire. But they do not have much of a choice. The instigators of war are already doing their dirty work. And the Western handlers are sending unambiguous hints to the president, including through the media and human rights activists, who seem to be loyal to the regime, but are financed by the Westerners. Today you are the light of democracy and the main hope of Moldova, and tomorrow, if you don’t execute the Central Instruction, you are an autocrat and “the second Plahotniuc”.