THE Moldova expelled the local director of the Russian news agency Sputnik today, accusing the outlet of “disinformation and propaganda”, against the backdrop of tensions between Chisinau and Moscow.

“A 56-year-old Russian citizen was declared an undesirable person for 10 years” and “expelled from the territory of Moldova,” the interior ministry said in a statement.

This is the head of Sputnik’s local office, Mr Vitaly Denisovthe representative of the Russian diplomacy explained in a post on Telegram Maria Zakharova. The spokeswoman denounced Chisinau’s “ridiculous” practice of “suppressing any dissident demonstration and eliminating unwanted sources of information.”

“There is no doubt about the anti-Russian flavor of this bitter measure,” he added, warning of “retaliation.”

The Moldovan government said it took this decision due to “attacks, lies, propaganda and disinformation” spread by the agency. “We will continue to protect the interests of Moldovans,” spokesman Daniel Voda said, warning that any attempt to “divide or weaken” the state would not be tolerated.

Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Moldova’s pro-European president Maia Sandu has frequently denounced interventions and attempts to overthrow her that she says are being orchestrated by Moscow. The former Soviet republic of 2.6 million people, located between Romania and Ukraine, was granted candidate status by the European Union last year, which it believes is its only safeguard against becoming the next target. of Russia.

Russian media outlets Sputnik and RT, considered Kremlin “disinformation organs”, were banned from broadcasting news, on TV or online, in the EU in March 2022 under an agreement of the “27”, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine.