General Deception: A Russian Spy at the Top of Moldova's Military
Quick Hit: June 5, 2024
This afternoon the independent Russian news outlet The Insider released a bombshell investigation detailing how the former Chief of the General Staff of the Moldovan Army is a Russian spy. Brigadier General Igor Gorgan was relieved of his post as Chief of Staff by President Sandu in September 2021 but continued reporting to his handlers in the Russian Military Intelligence (GRU) long after by leveraging his continued contacts within the Army and Ministry of Defense.
The Insider’s investigation was conducted jointly with the Moldovan youtube journalism channel Маленькая Страна (Little Country) who also released a 15 minute video detailing the accusations (video in Russian).
Who is Igor Gorgan?
General Gorgan began his career in the Soviet Army before returning to a newly independent Moldova. He rose through the ranks of the National Army and was selected in 2001 to attend the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth Kansas. Later he participated in international peacekeeping missions in Bosnia, Georgia and Iraq.
The Insider quotes a source in military intelligence (they do not say from which country) stating that they are not sure when he first started working for the GRU, but that it was likely around 2003 when he began serving alongside US and NATO troops.
Gorgan continued to rise through the ranks and was first appointed Chief of the General Staff in 2013. He was subsequently removed from the position due to conflicts with the Minister of Defense at the time. Gorgan was reappointed to the post in 2019 by then President Igor Dodon days after Plahotniuc fled the country and the uneasy coalition between the Socialists and PAS had been formed.
President Sandu removed Gorgan from this position in September 2021 at the suggestion of the new Minister of Defense Anatolia Nosatia. Given the time of forming a government and appointing positions following the July 2021 parliamentary election this would have been a very early move in the new PAS government.
According to the National Army’s website, Gorgan speaks English, French, Georgian, and Russian.
Spying for Russia
The report from the Insider comes from a series of Telegram messages and audio recordings that they obtained between General Gorgan and a series of handlers from the GRU. In these messages they show a spike in activity following the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In spite of the fact that he had been relieved of his role in the General Staff, Gorgan apparently maintained a strong network of informants throughout the Ministry of Defense and Army which passed him information. In his reports to his Russian handlers he particularly noted the comings and goings of Ukrainian military personnel who were pressing the Moldovan government for material assistance. In one exchange he reported on Ukrainian attempts to buy Moldova’s 6 Mig-29s writing:
Ukrainian Ukroboronexport is trying to buy from Moldova (or take away with the help of “partners” ) 6 Mig-29s, which are located in Marculesti. They insist very strongly... While the planes are in place. They want to carry out the operation through a front company from the United Arab Emirates in the near future.”
He later reported that:
"The Ukrainians have been walking around our Ministry of Defense for 3 weeks now and asking for everything, especially shells for artillery.”
Gorgan also informed his contacts about the crossing points and schedules for fuel trains traveling through Moldova to Ukraine. He noted that the trains would stop at night to avoid air attack (presumably when in Ukraine) and provided information on transit locations.
General Gorgan later reported that the Ukrainian Military was asking for Moldova’s help with documentation from the Soviet era MEZON military plant. Ukraine was seeking documentation and diagrams covering elements of the radio system from the Tochka-U missile system that were built previously in Moldova.
In addition to using Telegram, General Gorgan met with his handlers many times in cafes around Chisinau, on fishing trips and at the Russian Embassy itself - where he tended to enter lightly disguised. Usually involving sunglasses and a baseball cap.
The Insider reports that General Gorgan continued passing information to his Russian handlers until July 2023 when Moldova expelled 45 diplomats and technical staff from the Russian Embassy for spying. This move also followed a major investigation by the Insider and we wrote about it in Moldova Matters.
The investigation did not show any contact with the GRU following July 2023. But notably General Gorgan took a new job right after the expulsion of the diplomats - with the UN. Gorgan worked for the UNHCR as part of their refugee relief work in Moldova.
More than Just Spying
Back in April 2022 the issue of the MiG-29s this was a fairly heated topic. Ukraine was pushing hard for Moldova to sell them these fighter jets including with some public accusations and statements. The Moldovan government refused stating that it would violate the country’s neutrality. The real reason, as Moldova Matters wrote about at the time, was more likely that the only thing remaining of those planes was a metal outer shell - corrupt officials had sold off the engines and inner workings years ago.
That didn’t stop General Gorgan from insinuating that he deserved some credit for stopping the sale to his handlers.
In addition to sending information and replying to requests from his handlers, General Gorgan also sent a lot of unsolicited messages and fairly animated thoughts through Telegram.
In a number of messages Gorgan bragged about his connections and called himself a “man of action.” He repeatedly gave the GRU agents unsolicited advice on how to run the war, including the need to begin interdicting weapons shipments through Romania. He wrote:
“We must quickly close the border with Romania! This is a big hole! A lot of cargo comes from there to Ukraine. Especially military cargo! The Romanians still have some military factories producing weapons and ammunition.”
The General regularly reported on his impressions of the Moldovan leadership and government. In these, he reportedly expressed specific vitriol for President Sandu who had fired him. Speaking of the current leadership of the National Army at the beginning of the war General Gorgan said that the “commanders of the army are weak and spineless” and he went on to call them “cowards” and say that they were “afraid.”
This was part of a larger trend in his messages where Gorgan repeatedly stressed that Moldova was ready to welcome Russian troops. He wrote:
“We urgently need to cleanse the country of all fascist scum!!! Many are ready. Pass it on... The time has come. I keep the whole situation in the army under control... Here, fortunately, there are no “Azov” or other national formations, and we’ll deal with the politicians quickly.”
It is fairly clear that General Gorgan fancied himself playing some important role as a “man of action” when Russian troops entered the country.
It is also clear that he envisioned a violent end to the country’s democratically elected leadership.
Reactions to the Investigation
Reached for reaction by many local news outlets the Security and Information Service (SIS) released a statement confirming the reporting from the Insider saying:
“We know about the goals, actors, tools and tactics used against democratic processes in Moldova. In the context of the journalistic investigation conducted by The Insider, the SIS states that the data at its disposal confirms the veracity of the information presented,”
A spokeswoman for the agency went on to say that SIS is closely monitoring security risks and that information they have “indicates an unprecedented level of intensity in Russia’s actions aimed at keeping Moldova in its zone of influence.”
The Chief of Staff to the Presidential Administration, Adrian Balutel, responded to the news saying:
"such crimes against the state must be punished in the harshest way for treason against the Motherland. In 2021, this person was removed from office by President Maia Sandu. The state awards given to him in 2006 "Military Merit", 2015 "Faith to the Fatherland" and military ranks will be withdrawn. Such cases demonstrate that continuous monitoring and thorough verification of those in the defense and security institutions of the state are imperatively necessary. Such insider criminals contribute to hybrid threats to the state of the Republic of Moldova. That is precisely why we need more effective tools to fight against acts of treason"
The Ministry of Defense also put out a statement on the news as follows:
“Former commander of the National Army, Brigadier General Igor Gorgan was dismissed in 2021 by President Maia Sandu, including at the proposal of the Minister of Defense Anatolia Nosatia. (…)
The National Army has demonstrated in the last two years that it is determined to strengthen the defense sector to ensure peace in the Republic of Moldova and the safety of its citizens.
We will not allow the National Army to be used by traitors against the national interest. The National Army submits directly to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and serves the Homeland.”
Analysis - What’s Going On Here?
In terms of the investigation itself the news appears pretty clear - the former highest ranking military officer in Moldova has been a Russian spy for around 2 decades. Worse, he did not simply pass information to the GRU but actively cheered Russia’s invasion of Ukraine calling it “historical times!” and encouraged the Russian army to invade Moldova. In the case that Russia had reached Moldova, breaking through Ukrainian defenses in Spring 2022, General Gorgan clearly envisioned a role for himself in suppressing any efforts at national defense and ultimately in helping “deal with” Moldova’s democratic leadership.
General Gorgan’s hasty appointment by President Dodon, and almost equally swift dismissal by President Sandu, indicates that he may not have been keeping his sympathies completely secret. SIS states that they have information to corroborate the investigation implying that they were watching him previously.
Interestingly, Igor Gorgan is currently a free man. He has not been arrested and there has been no indication that any criminal case had, or has, been opened against him. Journalists from Маленькая Страна (Little Country) called him in advance of publishing the investigation and he answered the phone unsuspectingly, though, the call did not last long. Gorgan briefly tried denying any connection to specifically named individuals in the GRU and stated he had never set foot in the Russian Embassy - a lie not only contradicted by photos of him coming and going semi-covertly, but also by photos of him attending official receptions there. Gorgan then called the questions “stupid” and hung up the phone. He has not responded to other outlets since.
So did the government know? The statement from the Presidential Administration certainly seems to indicate surprise. The Insider called him an active GRU asset who was still running his own agents in the Ministry of Defense today. Further, he was working for the UNHCR1, a role that could have given him access to information about Ukrainian refugees in Moldova. Would he have been allowed to do this if his activities really were known?
This story just broke this afternoon and we have only begun to see what the reactions are. It is worth noting that the last major investigation by the Insider involving Moldova led to the expulsion of around half of the Russian Embassy staff - a move that we now know partially neutralized the spying activities of Igor Gorgan. In that case it seemed clear that the investigation showing the range and scope of espionage activities by the Russian Embassy forced the government to react strongly.
In this case, did the government know as SIS implies? Or are they reacting in real time like everyone else? We’ll have more details in the days ahead.
As long time readers of Moldova Matters will know, the UNHCR has not covered itself in glory in Moldova. I’ve written previously about their slow and haphazard refugee response in multiple articles.