Attacks on Danube River Ports and a Blockbuster Parliamentary Session

Weekly Roundup: August 1, 2023

This past week has been full of major news across a whole host of fronts. As such this Weekly Roundup is a bit longer than usual… but not long enough. In the list of major legislative moves by Parliament on their last day of summer session on July 31st we briefly mention a highly contentious set of amendments to the criminal code redefining the powers of Moldova’s top anti corruption prosecution and investigative bodies. This story is too complicated to fit into a Weekly Roundup and we’ve decided to run a stand alone article on this vote which will be in your inbox or available on the website in a few hours time. This is a lot of reading for this week but all of these stories are very important and we encourage you to follow them all closely.

Russia Attacks Odesa and Danube Ports

Since Russia’s unilateral withdraw from the "grain deal” on July 17th, it has stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s grain export infrastructure in Odesa and now in the country’s Danube river ports. We wrote about the bombardment of historical downtown buildings in Odesa in last week’s roundup. Now we know that 25 buildings declared historical monuments have been damaged or destroyed in the port city.

In addition of terror bombings of civilian areas of the city, Russia has systematically targeted port and grain storage infrastructure in Ukraine’s Black Sea ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk. Last week these attacks extended to Ukraine’s Danube river port of Reni which was hit by drones and missiles on July 24th. Grain infrastructure was damaged and 6 people reported injured in the attack. BBC Verify published an investigative report showing the extensive damage to grain infrastructure from satellite photos.

Photo accessed via Radio Moldova

The attacks on Reni were reported on by many international news outlets and most focused on 2 main facts. Firstly, that Russia is now systematically targeting Ukraine’s grain infrastructure in such a way as to create famine conditions in much of Africa which is highly reliant on Ukrainian grain. A situation summed up clearly by chief Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan who stated in an interview “all our hope is on famine,” explaining that by leveraging famine Russia may get sanctions relief.

The second main point of focus by the international press on the Reni port attacks was the proximity to Romania - the bombs fell only 200 meters from NATO territory. This is true in the sense that across the river from Reni is Romanian territory, primarily agricultural fields. Press reports also noted the proximity to the Romanian Danube port of Galati 10 km away. What almost all reporting ignored is the fact that the Moldovan port of Giurgiulesti is only 4.5 kilometers from Reni. Workers at the port heard and saw the explosions just downriver on the Ukrainian side. This is important not only because of proximity but because Reni and Giurgiulesti have overlapping and shared infrastructure including rail links. Further strikes against Reni or Ismail, Ukraine’s 2 Danube river ports, are likely to have reverberating affects on Moldova’s ability to ship its own agricultural products as well as Ukrainian grain through Giurgiulesti.

Ports of Reni, Giurgiulesti and Galati on google maps

Speaking of the attacks, President Sandu stated:

“My heart breaks when you see footage of destruction in Odessa, a city that is dear to many Moldovans. We condemn the ongoing Russian air attacks on peaceful cities, residential areas and the historic center protected by UNESCO. Our hearts and thoughts are with Ukraine,”

Specifically condemning the Danube river attacks, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement saying:

“Moldova condemns the Russian attack on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure along the Danube near the Romanian border. This attack creates significant risks for grain exports from Ukraine, as well as for food security at the regional and global levels,”

We’ll continue following this and other stories related to Moldova and Ukraine’s intertwined agricultural export infrastructure and the risks posed by Russia’s latest escalation.

Other Security Updates:

Here are some other stories related to Moldovan security in the news this week.

• Russia announced the closure of consular services at their Embassy from August 5th. They claim that the reduction in staff caused by the expulsion of diplomats following the spying scandal we wrote about earlier this week forced them to stop providing services.

• Moldovan sappers destroy 177 explosive objects found in the Stefan Voda district. The explosives were a mix of bombs and grenades along with more than 1400 rounds of ammunition - all dating from WW2. Farmers regularly find unexploded ordinance while plowing their fields in Moldova and call the country’s highly experienced bomb squad. This is just one more sad reminder of the long tail that conflicts bring - and a reminder of how long it will take Ukraine to fully cleanse its territory after this war.

Parliament’s Last Day Before Recess

July 31st was the last day of parliamentary session before the august recess begins and it was a very big day for the legislature. MP’s voted on more than 30 initiatives and while we’ll try and cover all the major stories here, even the local press is struggling to keep up and undoubtedly we’ll circle back with updates in the coming weeks. Here’s a roundup of the key laws passed:

• Members of “Unconstitutional” political parties barred from public office for 5 years. The law applies to members of the executive body of such a political party (*cough* the Shor Party) as well as any members holding elected office. In total this law will apply to over 600 people from the former Shor Party including 5 MPs, 43 mayors, 516 village and city councilors, and 72 district councilors. Ilan Shor says that he will challenge the ruling in the constitutional court (though not in person most likely).

• Parliament passed the law for a new agency to fight disinformation in the 2nd reading. The "The Center for Strategic Communication and Combating Disinformation" will serve as a coordinating body among all state agencies in "the fight against disinformation, manipulation of information and foreign interference." The director of the agency will be appointed by Parliament at the proposal of the President who will hold a public competition for candidates to the post. The initial candidate will be proposed within 2 months and serve for an initial 12 month mandate. After this the director will have a 5 year term.

• MPs vote to extend the state of emergency by 60 days. Prime Minister Recean had called for the parliament to vote on this extension. The Motion was supported by PAS MPs, the opposition had previously walked out and boycotted the sitting for other reasons. At the meeting the Prime Minister said:

"I wanted everyone to see these shots and understand that this war is with us. And now it has come even closer, especially recently, when civilian infrastructure is being shelled in Odessa, Reni. … Let's also pay attention to the hybrid war that Russia is waging against Moldova. Throughout the state of emergency, the government acted responsibly, used this tool exclusively to solve the problems of citizens, and the government did not abuse this tool,”

• Political Corruption Defined as a Crime. Parliament passed legislation in the 2nd reading to define the crimes of “active” and “passive” political corruption. This law specifically targets bribery which is used in order to get MPs or other elected officials to change their political parties after an election. Passive corruption is accepting a bribe in order to change your party, active corruption is the offering or paying of these bribes. The consequences are defined as fines and 6 and 7 years in prison respectively.

• Parliament voted to construct a modern military base outside Chisinau. The new base will be located outisde the town of Bacoi near the Chisinau airport.

• Parliament voted to approve the amendments on the reimbursement of VAT taxes in Gagauzia. Recall, this bill will save the central government around 500 million lei over 5 years by making Gagauzia responsible for tax refunds within the region. Responding to criticism about the bill this week, MP Radu Marian, head of the Parliamentary Committee on the Economy and Budget noted that between 2019 and 2023 the central government supported Gagauzia with 3.5 billion lei and EU countries with another 1 billion. This was used for the building of roads, refurbishment of schools, etc. He noted that the government would continue to support all regions but would not allow "undeserved privileges." Local representatives in Gagauzia are furious about this change and also note that many of their local companies are registered in Chisinau so they don’t collect as much VAT as they should with or without these changes.

• “Vetting” or external evaluation of judges and prosecutors was passed in the 2nd reading. The goal is to vet the whole legal system by December 31, 2025.

• SRL / Limited Liability Company Reform passed in the 2nd reading. We previously wrote about the significance of this reform at Moldova Matters. Passage of the bill is the biggest change in the structure of businesses and investor relations passed in many years.

• Amendments to the “Code of Criminal Procedure” were passed in the second reading. This law further defined the competencies of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s office vs those of the National Anti Corruption Center CNA in the fight against corruption. These amendments have become hugely contentious in the last week with some of the first public disagreements between parliament, prosecutors and civil society on the mechanism of anti-corruption reforms. These amendments are very important to understand and we don’t have time to do them justice in this roundup. You’ll be getting a separate article from Moldova Matters just on this topic later today.

Other Political News…

In addition to the passage of so many bills on July 31st there were lots of other consequential political stories of the past week. Here’s a roundup of the most important stories to watch:

• Fuel Oil spill and coverup at Chisinau Termoelectric. Last week we wrote about Renato Usati’s presentation of videos he claimed show bulldozers burying low grade fuel oil in violation of environmental laws (and common sense). The management of the Termoelectric company initially said that these were old videos from a 2015 tank rupture. Usati handily disproved this by noting that videos have metadata showing the dates they were filmed on as well as the device used - in this case a phone produced in 2021. Prime Minister Recean called the spill and coverup unacceptable and ordered the Ministry of Energy to sack the head of Termoelectric by the end of the week. Minister of Energy Victor Parlikov stated that the replacement of the director was already in progress but would be accomplished on this timeline. The Minister then came back with details of the spill explaining that in November a crack appeared in a steam pipe used to warm the thick and sludgy fuel oil which resulted in oil and water mixing together. The director of Termoelectric then decided to bury the resulting mix and tried to cover up the action. The Minister noted that this is not a major environmental disaster and is being cleaned up, the real issue he said was the coverup. Iurie Razlovan was appointed the new interim director of Termoelectric.

• Government responds to severe weather in the north of Moldova. Last week severe weather described by some as an inland “hurricane” ripped through 74 towns in northern Moldova tearing the roofs off houses and downing many trees. The government allocated 16 million lei in building materials, primarily new roof tiles and wood beams, for reconstruction efforts.

• The Commission for Emergency Situations allocated another 2 million lei for support of Ukrainian refugees in Moldova. The money will go towards supplying emergency accommodation centers, supporting education of children, paying for healthcare as people wait for residency cards and more.

• PAS MP’s propose a constitutional amendment. Currently the constitution prohibits members of parliament from holding paid jobs outside of parliament with the exception of teaching and academic research work. 40 MPs from the PAS Party proposed a constitutional amendment that would remove this restriction allowing MPs to hold jobs and run businesses. The stated goal is to cut down on “career politicians” and allow people from more diverse backgrounds to run for office. Most countries in western Europe allow MPs to hold some kind of outside jobs such as the UK which has no restrictions on such work. Before this amendment idea even got to serious discussions the Constitutional Court weighed in ruling that the amendment may not be considered. They cited article 142 of the Constitution which says "no revision is allowed that would lead to the abolition of the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens or their guarantees." They have not yet released their reasoning for the ruling but noted that it is final.

• Evgenia Hutsul has taken office as the Bashkan of Gagauzia and appointed her executive team. Ilan Shor presented the executive team via a video call and Hutsel noted that Shor and “experts from St. Petersburg” helped her pick what Shor called the “Dream Team.” Much of this “Dream Team” has no connection at all to Gagauzia including the current Mayor of Orhei from the Shor party who was appointed as Deputy Bashkan. A notable member of this dream team is former Democratic Party MP Boris Golovin who will lead the health department of the autonomy. Mr. Golovin has a long rap sheet of corrupt actions over his political career starting in 2010 when he was Deputy Minister of Health with the Communist government and he was accused of corruption related to the purchase of radio-diagnostic equipment. Later in 2019 while leading the agency responsible for emergency health response he was detained and removed from office for stealing money meant to be used to buy ambulances. A short book could be written on all the reporting of his corrupt activities over the years, all of which involve him stealing money or equipment meant to support the public health system. For some reason, the People's Assembly of Gagauzia was alarmed by elements of this “Dream Team” and has so far refused to hold a session to officially appoint them. They cited the fact that few of these people speak Gagauz as one problem they have. Following the failure to approve the “Dream Team” the disbanded Shor party held a rally outside of the People’s Assembly calling for their immediate appointment. Vice-Speaker of the People’s Assembly, Georgi Leiciu commented saying:

"Materially motivated supporters [aka paid protestors] of the [disbanded] Shor party demanded from the People’s Assembly the immediate approval of the composition of the Executive Committee, the list of which was announced the day before by Mr. Shor from a television monitor. The actions taken by the supporters of the new government are unacceptable. … I am sure that what happened on Friday was not authorized by law. That spontaneous rally is an element of pressure and threats on the deputies of the People's Assembly, …The requirement for knowledge of the language is not only a legal requirement, but also a moral right of our people, won in the 90s to preserve the language and the people.”

• “Sance” (Chance) party begins working. Billboards around Chisinau saying “Sance” (Chance) are going up advertising Ilan Shor’s new electoral grouping which also has an acronym “Shor.” Additionally a political party called “Sance” appeared in the official registry this week. Apparently the “Nashi” party (also affiliated with Shor) managed to change its name to Sance in spite of the Minister of Justice saying that no such party with a similar name to an “unconstitutional” party would be registered.

• Igor Dodon alleges more attempts to buy Socialist deputies by Shor. Dodon says that local officials are being offered up to 5000 euros to change parties to the Shor affiliated “Renaissance” party. He said contacts are being made with mayors and members of parliament with offers up to “millions of lei.” The Renaissance party responded saying that they have nothing to do with Shor.

Economics and Infrastructure

Here is a short roundup of the key news of the week:

• Power of Farmers Association holding regional consultations about more protests. Leaders of the association called out the authorities refusal to pause loan payments by small and medium farmers and put of moratorium on foreclosure and bankruptcy proceedings. They say that consultations will be held through the first round of harvest and decisions taken about more protests. Further damage to Ukrainian grain infrastructure and worries about additional flooding of the market are driving down prices and putting farmers in an increasingly difficult situation.

• Chisinau has prohibited large trucks from using the city roads from 8 am to 9 pm. Temperatures above 38 C soften the asphalt enough that heavy trucks can damage the roads. This is typical summer practice in much of Moldova but highlights the economic and infrastructure threats of increased temperatures and climate change.

• US Government approves $220 million dollar grant to Moldova for investments in the energy sector. Investments will be targeted at further connecting Moldova to the EU energy grid and gas supply system and reducing dependence on Russian energy.

• An agreement to build a bridge between the Moldovan town of Cosauti and the Ukrainian town of Yampil over the Nistru river has been approved by Parliament. The bridge will improve road infrastructure between Moldova and Ukraine in the north of the country and assure links that do not pass through Transnistria. Ukraine will finance the construction of the bridge while Moldova will be responsible for road infrastructure on the Moldovan side. The planned opening is in 2025.

• Moldelectrica announced that it will build a 400kV high voltage line from Balti to Suceava in Romania. The state company has received permission for the project from the Environmental Protection Agency this week. This is one more example of strategic energy infrastructure connections between Moldova and the EU grid.

Murder in Transnistria - Updates

In last week’s roundup we discussed the murder of Transnistrean opposition politician Oleg Khorzhan in his home. New details have emerged in the case but if anything the question of responsibility has become even more murky.

Transnistrean investigators have said that they believe there were 3-4 robbers including a man named Andrei Duminica who committed the murder. Andrei Duminica has multiple convictions for extortion, robbery and assault and met Oleg Khorzhan while they both served sentences in the same prison. According to the local investigators the men kept in contact after prison and on the night of the murder Duminica called Khorzhan 10 minutes before the murder. With no sign of forced entry they conclude that he was let in. The murder weapons were a sharpened awl, a screwdriver and a heavy round object - probably metal pipe. The investigators theorize that the men came to rob Khorzhan and killed him in the process.

This story fell apart pretty much immediately. Firstly, Andrei Duminica contacted the press from an undisclosed location outside Moldova sending pictures of his passport. He showed stamps entering Romania on May 18th and then the Schengen zone via Hungary on May 19th. The passport has no stamps leaving Schengen after that. Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mihai Popsoi confirmed this information saying that Duminica was not in Moldova or Transnistria at the time of the murder.

Meanwhile, Oleg Khorzhan’s father spoke to the press about his son. In the interview he said that the robbery theory did not make any sense. He noted that valuables were found around the house, even in the murder area in plain sight including a bar of gold (or possibly silver) in or near the safe (around 100g). He said that he believes the target in the safe was documents not valuables as his son was not known to keep large amounts of money at home. His father stated that he had had multiple threats in the past, including one instance where the Russian GRU discovered a plot to kill him and foiled it just in time. He believes his son was killed for his politics and gave the following quote from his son which summarized his political philosophy:

“I am not against a united Moldova. But as long as we stand with our backs to each other - some look to the West, others to the East - we will not succeed. I am on the side of those who look to the East, and I am for the whole of Moldova to look to the East. When we all look in the same direction, all problems will go away, and we will be united.”

The identity of the murderers may never be known. But if this was a political killing as Oleg Khorzhan’s father and many others speculate, then it was likely against the wishes of Russian intelligence. This signals either a weakening of Moscows grip on Tiraspol or some other change in dynamic between the “authorities” in Transnistria and their Kremlin backers. Without facts, there is only speculation, and without an independent investigation in Transnistria we will likely never have any facts.