Kremlin sowing chaos with bomb threats and bribery to thwart Moldova's vote to join EU, authorities say

Buying off voters, calling in bomb threats and paying protesters to antagonize police — these are the tactics authorities say the Kremlin has taken up to thwart an upcoming election in Moldova.

EU membership would deepen Moldova’s ties to the West — and is a direct effort to keep Russia’s influence out. 

Russia is intent on keeping Eastern European nations that were once a part of the Soviet Union — like Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine — out of the EU. Historically, a vote to join the EU often precedes a vote to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Cold War-era alliance designed to combat Russia. 

The vote comes as some call for NATO and the EU to allow war-torn Ukraine membership — a move that is seen by others as a risky provocation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.