The governments of Canada, the UK and the US released a joint statement condemning Russia’s alleged involvement in Moldova’s upcoming October presidential elections as subverting the country’s free and fair elections.

The three countries allege that Russia has been employing various means including “lies, deceit, corruption and disinformation to undermine sovereignty and democracy,” and obtain election results favourable to the Kremlin. Further, criminal groups and other Russian actors are said to be inciting violence and spreading disinformation in order to degrade public confidence in the current Moldovan president and the upcoming election. The countries say that all of this is to redirect public support towards certain presidential candidates which are favoured by the Kremlin.

The release goes on to state that there is reason to believe that if this interference does not yield the desired results, Russia will incite protests in Moldova, further destabilizing the democratic process in the country.

The three countries have pledged to support Moldova in its resistance to Russian interference through a “range of measures” including sharing intelligence with Moldavian agencies, working closely with them going into the future, and sanctioning individuals and entities who are involved in destabilizing Moldavian democracy. The US has gone a step further and pledged $135 million in aid to counter Russian influence.

Almost one year ago, the Moldovan president said Russia would be a “source of instability” in Moldova’s attempt to maintain its democratic institutions. On May 29 this year, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Moldavian President Maia Sandu in Chisinau, where both acknowledged ongoing Russian interference and pledged to work against it.