Moldova to cut number of Russian diplomats due to espionage investigation

Jurnal TV reports this.

Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu said that for many years Moldova has been the target of certain hostile activities and policies from Russia. And much of it was done through the embassy.

"It is important that the diplomatic services focus on developing good relations, or when actions are aimed at destabilizing actions and those not related to diplomatic activities, we have reached a common agreement on the need to limit the number of accredited diplomats from Russia," the minister said.

He also noted that representatives of the Russian embassy have already been informed.

According representative of the Moldovan Foreign Ministry, Igor Zakharov, 18 diplomats and 27 technical staff members of the Russian Embassy in Chisinau are being expelled from Moldova.

The embassy will keep 10 diplomats and 15 technical employees.

What is known about the journalistic investigation into spying on the Moldovan authorities

On July 24, Insider and Jurnal TV published a joint investigation that found out that 28 antennas and satellite dishes, as well as Yagi-Uda grids and vertical pins, were installed on the roof of the Russian embassy in Chisinau. These are used to intercept satellite phone signals, which makes it possible to listen to telephone conversations and intercept conversations on the radio of the local police. Journalists claim that this is more than the number of antennas and dishes installed at the Russian Embassy in Belgium, and their number is growing every year.

Also, according to journalists, Russian special services officers climb up to the roof, where the listening and interception equipment is installed. Most often, they did this before the parliamentary and presidential elections in Moldova, as well as before the summit of the European Political Community. In particular, on May 14, the day of the election of the bashkan of the Gagauz autonomy, Pavel Yakunin, an officer of the military attaché at the Russian Embassy in Moldova, who is also responsible for secret communication channels with the Russian intelligence headquarters in Moscow and with the space intelligence reception center in Vatutinki, Moscow Region, was spotted on the roof of the embassy.

The investigation emphasizes that every two to three years, the embassy changes its "listeners" and specialists in hacking computer networks. So now they and the communication officers in Chisinau are commanded by Alexander Vasinovich, who often appears on the roof of the embassy and gives them instructions.

In addition, the investigators report that the spies' wives are used as delivery people to transport too heavy files. Thus, they often fly to Moscow and back, and their bags are always full of flash drives and hard drives. The women's luggage cannot be inspected because they have diplomatic immunity.

On July 25, Russian Ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova.