Exclusive: Russian diplomats expelled
from Moldova recruited fighters - sources
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[June 13, 2017]
By Matthias Williams
CHISINAU (Reuters) - Moldovan intelligence
believes five Russian diplomats expelled from Moldova last month were
spies who were recruiting fighters for the Moscow-backed insurgency in
neighboring Ukraine, a government source and two diplomatic sources told
Reuters.
Moldova, a former Soviet state that has long been the focus of a
struggle for influence between Russia and the West, expelled the
diplomats on May 29. It did not explain the decision, with Prime
Minister Pavel Filip saying only that his government had "good reasons".
According to the sources, who are familiar with the case, the five were
ejected because of their alleged activities as undercover officers with
the Russian military intelligence agency, the GRU.
They said Moldovan officials believed the Russians were recruiting
fighters from Gagauzia, an autonomous southern region home to an ethnic
Turkish population that is pro-Russian and opposes closer integration
with the European Union.
The Moldovan government source and Chisinau-based diplomatic sources all
spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the
matter. They did not say how the Russians allegedly recruited the
fighters, how many were recruited or the reason for their recruitment.
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Reuters could not independently verify the allegations about the
activities of the five Russians.
The Russian foreign ministry declined to comment. The Russian defense
ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
Asked by Reuters if the five Russians were GRU officers, a spokeswoman
for the Moldovan foreign ministry said they were diplomats and declined
to comment further.
More than 10,000 people have died in fighting in eastern Ukraine between
Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels since the conflict began in 2014
following Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula. While Moscow
politically backs the insurgents, it has repeatedly denied Western
accusations that it is arming them and sending fighters to aid them.
TRAINING CAMP
Moldovan intelligence believes fighters recruited from Gagauzia were
first sent to a paramilitary training camp in the Rostov region of
southern Russia, according to the sources.
The sources did not identify the camp. Russia has used at least two
military camps in Rostov to train volunteers for fighting in eastern
Ukraine, according to evidence collected by Reuters and the Russian
media.
A former member of a Russian army artillery unit told Reuters that he
saw about 200 people in camouflage fatigues - not Russian military
uniforms - based in a camp near a Russian army position at the Kuzminsky
firing range in Rostov in 2014, at the time of fierce battles in eastern
Ukraine.
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A general view shows the Embassy of Russia in Chisinau, Moldova May
30, 2017. REUTERS/Viktor Dimitrov
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This was corroborated by a member of a unit of the Cossacks - a
Russian paramilitary group - who told Reuters in early 2015 that
volunteers to fight in Ukraine were training alongside the Russian
army in that area.
According to Russian media outlet Gazeta.ru, fighters bound for
eastern Ukraine were also training at the Kadamovsky firing range in
Rostov.
The three sources said some information about Gagauzians fighting in
eastern Ukraine was brought to the attention of Moldovan authorities
by Ukraine's state security service, the SBU, which gathers
intelligence on people fighting with the separatist insurgency in
eastern Ukraine.
With information from the SBU, the Moldovan authorities were able to
track, arrest and interrogate Gagauzian fighters returning from the
conflict, according to the sources. Some became informers, they
added.
The SBU did not respond to a request for comment.
Relations between Moldova and Russia have been bumpy under a
succession of pro-Western governments. Russia halted imports of
Moldovan produce in retaliation for Chisinau signing a trade and
political deal with the European Union in 2014. Moldova and Russia
have also feuded over the treatment of Moldovan officials traveling
to Russia.
But Russia has forged direct ties to Gagauzia.
Irina Vlah, elected the head of Gagauzia in March 2015 on pledges of
closer ties with Russia, visited the Kremlin in January this year
and attended a reception hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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"The people of Gagauzia view Russia with affection," Vlah said at
the reception.
(Additional reporting by Alexander Tanas in CHISINAU, and Maria
Tsvetkova, Anton Zverev and Dmitry Solovyov in MOSCOW; Editing by
Pravin Char)
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