Moldovan President Maia Sandu has warned that her country faces a “race against time” to protect its democracy from attempts by Russia to influence the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Speaking to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday, Sandu described the 28 September vote for Moldova’s 101-seat legislature as the most consequential in the nation’s history. She reiterated allegations that Moscow is conducting a “hybrid war” against Moldova through disinformation, vote-buying, illicit party funding and other tactics, aimed at undermining the election and Moldova’s European Union membership ambitions.

“The Kremlin’s goal is clear: to capture Moldova through the ballot box, to use us against Ukraine, and to turn us into a launchpad for hybrid attacks on the European Union,” Sandu said.

The president said the outcome will determine whether Moldova becomes a stable democracy or risks being pulled away from Europe.

“Today we face an unlimited hybrid war on a scale unseen before the full invasion of Ukraine,” she added.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola praised Sandu’s determination and reaffirmed the EU’s support for Moldova’s democratic path. The parliament is set to debate a resolution on strengthening Moldova’s resilience to Russian hybrid threats, with a vote expected on Wednesday.

Leaders from France, Germany and Poland recently visited Moldova to mark its 34th independence anniversary, demonstrating continued European backing.

Sandu’s Party of Action and Solidarity, which she founded in 2016, won a clear majority in 2021 but faces uncertainty in the upcoming election. Moldova applied for EU membership following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and was granted candidate status the same year. Accession negotiations began last year.

Siegfried Muresan, chair of the European Parliament’s delegation to Moldova, said: “Moldova is a priority for EU security, not just EU enlargement. A stronger Moldova means a weaker Russia at our borders.”

Sandu’s warnings followed the arrest in Romania of a former Moldovan intelligence official accused of spying for Belarus, part of a broader network allegedly used by Russia to target Europe.

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