Putin and European Nations Increase Rhetorical pressure on Ukraine’s Neighbors
Chisinau, Moldova – September 28, 2025 – A coordinated escalation in rhetoric from moscow and select European capitals is raising concerns about increased pressure โขon Moldova and Georgia, both nationsโข bordering Ukraine and harboring pro-Westernโค aspirations. Recentโค statements from Russian โofficials, coupled with increasingly assertive messagingโข from political figures in Hungary and Slovakia, signal a concerted effort to โฃdestabilize the regionโ and undermine โsupport forโค Kyiv.
The intensifyingโฃ pressure manifests as accusationsโ of โharboring “anti-Russian elements,” amplified disinformation campaigns, and thinly veiled โthreats regarding security. this coordinated approach,โ analystsโ say, aims to deter Moldova and Georgia from further integration with the European Union and to create a buffer zone favorable โto โRussian interests. Theโข situation is especially acute in Moldova, whereโ pro-Russian factions are โคactively attempting to exploit existingโฃ political and economic vulnerabilities. Slovakia’s newly elected Prime โMinister Robert Fico has already signaled aโ halt to military aid for Ukraine, aligning with Moscow’s narrative โand potentially emboldening furtherโ aggression.
The Kremlin has consistently โframed its actions in ukraineโฃ as a response to perceived NATO expansion and Western interference in its “sphere of influence.” On September 26, 2025, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey โLavrov accused Moldova and Georgia of becoming “staging grounds for โhostile activities” against Russia, reiterating claims of Western military buildup in the โregion.Simultaneously, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbรกnโ hasโ repeatedly criticized EU sanctions against Russia and called forโข direct negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow,โ echoingโ Kremlinโค talking points. These actions are occurring as Ukraine โcontinues โto fight a defensive war against Russia’sโฃ ongoing invasion, โคlaunched in Febuary 2022.
Moldova’s President Maia Sandu has repeatedly warned of Russia’s attempts to destabilize herโ country, citing evidenceโค of hybrid warfare tactics including disinformation, cyberattacks, and support for separatist movements in Transnistria, a Russian-backed breakaway region within Moldova. Georgia faces similar โฃchallenges, with ongoingโ Russian occupation ofโ Abkhazia and โขSouth Ossetia, breakaway regions recognized by Russia following the 2008 Russo-Georgian โWar. The EU hasโ pledged support for both nations’โ sovereignty and territorial integrity, but the effectiveness of this support is increasingly questioned given the internal divisions withinโฃ the blocโฃ and theโ growing influenceโ of pro-Russian voices. The situation demands a unified and resolute response from the West to preventโฃ furtherโ escalation and safeguard the โขstability of Eastern Europe.
