In February 2023, Ukrainian and Moldovan officials unveiled what they claimed were Russian plans to orchestrate an overthrow of the Moldovan government. The existence of the coup plan was first alleged by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Moldovan president Maia Sandu subsequently revealed details of the plan. Background Moldovan, U.S., and European officials have said that after Moldova was officially granted EU membership candidate status in 2022, Russia began conducting a hybrid war against Moldova with the goal of replacing the pro-Western Moldovan government with a pro-Russian one. Transnistria Russian troop presence Since 1992, the Russian military has maintained a presence in Transnistria, an unrecognized breakaway state internationally recognized to be part of Moldova. Fears of Russian military intervention in Moldova Since the beginning of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, there have been concerns that Russia may use Moldovan territory in its invasion of Ukraine. The invasion of Ukraine prompted fears among Moldovan authorities that Russian troops stationed in Transnistria may invade either Ukraine or the rest of Moldova. In March 2022, a map depicting Russian invasion plans seen in a televised briefing by Belarussian president Lukashenko indicated that Russian troops planned to move into Transnistria after capturing Odessa. In April 2022, a Russian general stated that Russian forces intend to create a land bridge across southern Ukraine to reach Transnistria, saying that Russian-speakers are being oppressed there. Destabilisation efforts Transnistria bombings In April 2022, a security agency building, an airport, and a radio station in Transnistria were bombed over the course of two days. All buildings were empty at the time of the attacks. The Moldovan deputy interior minister said the attacks appeared to be an attempt to destabilise Moldova, and possibly to serve as a pretext to elicit a Russian intervention. Airport bomb threats During the summer of 2020, the Chișinău International Airport was repeatedly forced to be evacuated after fake bomb threats; some of the threats were traced back to Russia. Cyberattacks Hundreds of cyberattacks have been conducted against Moldovan computer systems. Economic pressure Natural gas supply reductions Moldova is almost entirely dependent on Russian energy supplies. In 2022, Russia delivered less than half the amount of natural gas promised in contracts and instituted a 4-fold price hike for gas supplies to the country, leading to a sharp spike in inflation. Electricity supply reduction spillover Moldova has repeatedly experienced power outages after Russian strikes on the Ukrainian