Putin Ordered 2026 Drive to Split NATO and EU, Targeting Moldova

1 articles · Updated · The New Voice of Ukraine · Aug 14

A secret December 2025 meeting saw Vladimir Putin order Russian intelligence and the military to “break NATO and the European Union apart from within” in 2026, according to a New York Times report citing sources.
Moldova sits at the center of that effort because Western officials rank controlling it as Moscow’s No. 2 priority after conquering Ukraine; its position between Ukraine and NATO territory would give Russia a staging ground for further attacks.
That strategy still hinges on seizing part of southern Ukraine to open a land corridor to Moldova, echoing an early-war map shown by Alexander Lukashenko that pointed Russian troop movements toward Transnistria.
Russian strikes have already hit the Moldova frontier: a March attack contaminated water near the border, and later drone strikes damaged a line carrying up to 70% of Moldova’s electricity, causing blackouts.
The report adds to wider Western warnings that Putin could test NATO’s Article 5 commitment between fall 2026 and 2029, while Germany’s top military commander says Russian drones are probing European air defenses for weaknesses.