Moldova’s former chief of the general staff shared sensitive military information with Russian intelligence services at the height of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to a new report by The Insider, which cited leaked Telegram messages.
Igor Gorgan, Moldova’s chief of the general staff between 2013 and 2016, and then later between 2019 and 2021, began corresponding with a handler from Russia’s GRU military intelligence in April 2022.
He reportedly shared information with GRU Colonel Alexei Makarov about Ukraine’s intention to buy fighter jets and artillery shells from Moldova, as well as the locations of undercover fuel supplies being sent from Moldova to Ukraine.
In one message published by The Insider, Gorgan appeared to invite a Russian incursion into his own country by writing: “We urgently need to cleanse the country of all fascist scum! Many are ready. Pass it on... The time has come. I keep the whole situation in the army under control.”
According to The Insider, Gorgan maintained a network of informants within Moldova’s Defense Ministry after he was dismissed by President Maia Sandu in September 2021.
Gorgan’s correspondence with Makarov, who was a military attache in the Russian Embassy in Chisinau, ended around the time when Moldova expelled dozens of Russian diplomats last July. The former chief of the general staff has since worked at a UN office in the Moldovan capital that helps with Ukrainian refugees and delivers humanitarian aid to Ukrainian children, according to The Insider.
The investigative outlet shared photos of what it said was Gorgan meeting Makarov outside the Russian Embassy in Chisinau on several occasions. It said the images were taken by Moldovan investigative journalists.
President Sandu’s chief of staff Adrian Balutel vowed to revoke Gorgan’s military awards and honorary ranks in response to the allegations, according to Politico.
Moldova’s pro-EU government has condemned Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine and accused Moscow of a plot to overthrow the current government, a claim the Kremlin denies.
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