Kremlin disputes Sandu's win in Moldova amid tension

Many reports provided by Russian media or government representatives are elements of propaganda. Such reports are part of the information warfare conducted by the Russian Federation.

Maia Sandu won the Moldovan presidential elections for the second time. On Monday afternoon, it was announced that she secured 55.33% of the votes in the second round.

Sandu defeated Alexandr Stoianoglo, the former prosecutor general, nominated by the pro-Russian socialists. The significant pro-Western Moldovan diaspora contributed to her victory, while Stoianoglo won by a narrow margin in national commissions.

The authorities argue that the second round of the presidential elections was conducted under extraordinarily high tension due to substantial Russian interference.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov commented on the progress of Sunday's elections in Moldova. He stated that hundreds of thousands of Moldovans living in Russia were not allowed to vote, unlike those living in the West, whose votes were crucial for Sandu’s victory.

"These elections were neither democratic nor fair," added one of the key Kremlin propagandists, as quoted by Reuters.

Regarding Sandu, Peskov said, "As for Ms. Sandu - you know that she is not, in our understanding, the president of her country - because in the country itself, the majority of the population did not vote for her, and we are talking about a very, very divided society. These contradictions will certainly continue," he added.

As Reuters reminds us, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously referred to the elections, calling them "the most undemocratic election campaign in all the years of Moldovan independence."