Putin’s 2026 Plan Targets NATO, EU Collapse with Focus on Moldova, Report Says

Vladimir Putin reportedly briefed senior military commanders in late 2025 and outlined a goal for 2026 to "collapse NATO and the EU from within," according to sources familiar with the meeting. Western intelligence officials said the Kremlin’s primary aim is to subjugate Ukraine, followed by gaining control over Moldova, which they view as a strategic foothold for further aggression toward Ukraine and the West.

The report states that Russia attempted to influence Moldova’s parliamentary elections on September 28, 2025, employing cyberattacks, disinformation, vote-buying and canvassing. Clergy members were allegedly recruited, given Russian bank debit cards and paid $1,000 to persuade voters against a referendum on EU membership. Training camps in Serbia, Bosnia and near Moscow taught Moldovan participants to handle firearms, create incendiary devices and operate drones, with instructors linked to the GRU.

Moldovan presidential adviser on national security and defense Stanislav Secrieru said Russia seeks to use the country as a "springboard for hostile activities against Ukraine as well as its main defence and financial supporter, the EU," adding that Russia has allocated significant resources to the effort.

Moldovan authorities responded by conducting raids, detaining individuals who attended the camps, and strengthening cyber defences with assistance from Western partners. President Maia Sandu’s party retained its parliamentary majority. > "We won the battle, but we did not win the war," said Mihai Lupașcu, director of Moldova’s Agency for Cybersecurity.