Russia’s Vladimir Putin has no interest in ending its war in Ukraine and is preparing hybrid attacks to subvert democratic elections in Europe, Moldova’s president has warned. Any peace deal secured will only pause the fighting, giving Russia time to regroup and prepare for another attack, perhaps within months, according to Maia Sandu, who has served as president since 2020.

Such a result would not only put Ukraine at risk, but also other former Soviet states, such as Moldova, Armenia, Georgia and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. According to Ms Sandu, unless Donald Trump, who this week claimed that a peace deal was “95% done”, was willing to impose meaningful pressure on Putin, Russia’s ambitions to conquer Ukraine and dominate Europe would only be strengthened. “I believe that President Trump wants peace, and we appreciate this very much,” she told The Telegraph. “I just don’t believe there is enough pressure today on Russia to make them agree to stop the war in Ukraine.

“We want a just peace, and we want a peace which will be sustainable. We don’t want a peace which is going to provoke Russia in six months from now to come back.”

She went on to warn that if Putin was allowed to win in Ukraine, not just Moldova’s security would be in danger, but also its sovereignty. If Russia were to gain control of the Black Sea coast, it would threaten neighbouring Moldova. Control of this territory would give Russia a land corridor to Transnistria – a breakaway region in eastern Moldova with strong pro-Russian sympathies.

The leaders of Transnistria declared independence from Moldova following a civil war in the early 1990s. In a 2006 referendum, 97% of respondents supported Transnistria joining Russia. Russia currently has approximately 1,500 troops stationed there and the territory has long been discussed in the West as a possible platform for a Russian invasion of Moldova.

Like Ukraine, Moldova is now orienting itself more towards Western Europe and is currently seeking EU membership.

However, Ms Sandu does not believe that Putin will stop at just the invasion of Moldova: “He wants to control the continent,” she warned.

She believes that this would be pursued through not just military force, but also via a sweeping campaign of electoral interference across Europe, with the aim of weakening Western societies and engineering outcomes favourable to the Kremlin. Ms Sandu claimed that her country has been used as a “testing ground” for a programme of disinformation and cyber warfare, one that she does not believe the UK and its European allies are adequately prepared for.

Indeed, in September, Ms Sandu accused Russia of spending “hundreds of millions of euros” to subvert her country’s parliamentary election, with “hundreds of individuals [being] paid to provoke disorder, violence, and spread fear”.

“The target is not Moldova,” she also told The Telegraph. “The target is Europe, and Europe should learn from countries on the front line of the fight for democracy. Democracy on the Continent is in danger.”