Russia’s state-funded private military company Wagner Group – and specifically its former head, the now-deceased Yevgeny Prigozhin – plotted a coup attempt that aimed to depose Moldova’s pro-European president Maia Sandu and destabilize the country. The attempt was thwarted thanks to information released on February 9, 2023, by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. While Ukrainian authorities simply spoke of plans “by the Russian intelligence”, the Moldovan President attributed the operation to Wagner Group’s since-deceased leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. The coup was part of a larger strategy to destabilize the country politically. Russian forces intended to support the coup with various tactics including provoking societal unrest, encouraging anti-government protests to turn violent by hiring aggressive rioters, and bribing voters with money smuggled into the country through cash mules and bank cards issued in Dubai. According to Moldovan intelligence, Russia illegally channeled more than $55 million into the country for political purposes in 2023.