Moldova police say they foiled Russia-backed plot to cause unrest during protest

People wave flags during a protest initiated by the Movement for the People and members of Moldova’s Russia-friendly Shor Party, against the pro-Western government and low living standards, in Chisinau, Moldova (Aurel Obreja/AP)

Moldovan police said on Sunday they have foiled a plot by groups of Russia-backed actors who were specially trained to cause mass unrest during a protest against the country’s new pro-Western government.

The head of Moldova’s police, Viorel Cernauteanu, said in a news conference that an undercover agent had infiltrated groups of “diversionists,” some Russian citizens, who had been promised money to organize “mass disorder” to destabilize Moldova during a protest in the capital, Chisinau.