David Smith

A Russian drone strike has damaged a key power line supplying Moldova — triggering an energy emergency and raising the risk of blackouts. This wasn’t just an incident. It exposed a critical vulnerability in Moldova’s energy system. Full analysis: open.substack.com/pub/moldovamat…

Russia's overnight strike on Ukrainian energy infrastructure knocked out the 400kV Isaccea-Vulcănești line — Moldova's main electricity corridor to Europe. 🧵on some context, why this vulnerability matters, and how Moldova is addressing it:

After 34 years, Moldovan peacekeepers on the river Nistru have finally been granted the right to wear the Moldovan flag on their shoulders. Until now only Russian “peacekeepers” were allowed that. zdg.md/stiri/politic/…

Moldova’s 2025 elections weren’t just targeted - they were engineered to fail In a new report with WatchdogMD, I break down how cyberattacks, disinformation, and protest mobilization were meant to work together to undermine the vote - and why they didn’t open.substack.com/pub/moldovamat…

📷Moldova’s 2025 elections faced a coordinated hybrid attack combining cyber operations, disinformation, and attempts to manufacture “evidence” of fraud. The goal wasn’t to change results — but to undermine public trust. Read the full analysis: shorturl.at/gUFfK

A leaked Moldovan government document is offering the clearest look yet at how officials are thinking about Transnistria. It’s not a plan—but it reveals a strategy. Here’s what it says (and why it matters): open.substack.com/pub/moldovamat…

Guest article by Vasile Tofan: Moldova’s local government system is too fragmented to work. ~900 mayoralties. Shrinking population. Limited capacity. A Baltic-inspired model would replace this with ~40 strong municipalities. open.substack.com/pub/moldovamat…

Oil in the Nistru. Water cutoffs in the north. Fuel prices surging. Russian drones overhead. This week, Moldova faces a cascading crisis - environmental, economic, and security. Full breakdown: open.substack.com/pub/moldovamat…

Final part of my 4-part series on religion in Kremlin influence campaigns during Moldova’s 2024–25 elections. How Moscow links “traditional values” to Western anti-globalist networks - and why contradictions create openings to push back against FIMI. open.substack.com/pub/moldovamat…

1. Ukraine promptly answers a U.S. call to help with drone interceptors and sends its top experts to the Middle East. 2. Russia helps the Iranian regime with intel to kill Americans. As a result: 1. Russia and Putin gets praised and cherished by Trump who's relieving Russian oil sanctions and in fact helping save Russian war economy in war against Ukraine. 2. Ukraine gets a spadeful of shit into its face from Trump once again.

Oil prices are surging as the Iran war disrupts global supply and closes the Strait of Hormuz. What could this mean for Moldova? In this week’s roundup: the potential energy fallout, Transnistria’s gas issues and a week of political scandal in Chișinău open.substack.com/pub/moldovamat…

Kremlin-linked influence campaigns about Moldova aren’t just aimed at Moldovans. Part 3 of my series with WatchDog examines how a delegation of far-right Western bloggers helped spread religious-themed disinformation to English-speaking audiences. open.substack.com/pub/moldovamat…

Our partners know it: they can count on France. This is the case for Ukraine, which is holding its ground despite massive Russian attacks that continue to claim numerous civilian casualties—attacks which I condemn. The crisis in the Middle East will divert neither our attention nor our efforts. We will continue to support the Ukrainians in their fight for their freedom and sovereignty. I reiterated this to President @ZelenskyyUa, with whom we have just reviewed the situation. Europe can neither hesitate nor slow down: the effort must continue, both for the adoption of new sanctions and for the release of the financial support for Ukraine agreed upon in December. France will do its part, and everyone must step up to their responsibilities.

Part 2 of my new series on the Kremlin’s use of religion to influence Moldova’s elections looks at how networks were used to spread political messaging, pay clergy, and build a grassroots propaganda machine around “traditional values.” open.substack.com/pub/moldovamat…

Religion became a key vector in Kremlin influence operations during Moldova’s recent elections. In Part 1 of a new series based on a report with WatchDog, I explain the Orthodox church schism that underpins these campaigns. open.substack.com/pub/moldovamat…

As Moldova marks 34 years since the outbreak of the Transnistrian war, Chisinau steps up the pressure on Tiraspol and takes concrete steps in the “convergence” strategy for gradual reintegration. open.substack.com/pub/moldovamat…

@paulaerizanu ... and Belarus, and Abkhazia, and Armenia. Without priorities it's a wishlist and they don't seem serious. If it was just Transnistria I would be interested. Like this it just made me roll my eyes :(

One of the EU’s conditions for a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv is for Russia to withdraw its troops from Moldova’s region of Transnistria, according to Kaja Kallas svoboda.org/a/kallas-preds…

With Maia Sandu in Munich and US Senators in Chisinau there was a lot of diplomatic news this week. Plus, we got updates on Igor Dodon’s corruption case with recordings of his negotiations with Plahotniuc (on behalf of Putin). This week's roundup... open.substack.com/pub/moldovamat…

New economic data show the depth of the crisis facing the Transnistria region. Plus - Prime Minister Munteanu visits Kyiv, the EU is considering a 2-speed Europe and team Moldova makes their debut at the Olympics. All this and more in the Weekly Roundup. open.substack.com/pub/moldovamat…

It’s been 100 days since the new government took office - what are their main accomplishments? Who knows. The PM perplexingly dismissed the 100 day marker as “Soviet” and gave us a masterclass in missed opportunities in political communication. open.substack.com/pub/moldovamat…