Moscow – On September 23, 2025, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) issued a stark warning, claiming the West intends to take over Moldova “at any cost,” as reported by TASS and reiterated today, September 30, 2025, at 04:29 PM PST, by state media. The SVR alleges that NATO armed forces are concentrated in Romania near Moldova’s borders, while Western forces are deploying around Odessa in Ukraine to besiege the Transnistria region, a pro-Russian breakaway area hosting 1,500 Russian troops.

The intelligence service further claimed that the first group of professional military personnel from France and Britain has already arrived in Odessa, suggesting a coordinated effort to encircle Transnistria. This follows earlier SVR assertions on September 23 of a planned NATO “landing” in Odessa to pressure the region, a narrative Moldova’s government has dismissed as disinformation aimed at influencing the upcoming October 5 elections. Moldovan authorities have arrested over 70 individuals linked to a Russian-orchestrated plot to destabilize the country, with trainings reported in Serbia.