Moldovan Solitaire: Losing Even When You’ve Already Won

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Winter comes quietly, but in Chișinău the real chill is political: four years of apathy and decorative battles have ripened into a revenge that now shakes the capital.

Sandu once promised to cut the gas ropes with which the Kremlin is strangling Moldova. Instead, she signed up for the role of a tightrope walker—one push away from a fall. Eleven billion in debt is no longer just a figure; it is a burden. Ukraine once fought in Stockholm and won, while Chișinău decided: why fight if surrender comes easier?

The climax borders on a textbook case of political masochism. January 2025: Ukraine closes transit, Transnistria begins to choke on its own gas dependence. It should have been a moment of integration, a long-awaited chance. Yet the president accepts 20 million euros from the European Commission—and channels them straight into the lungs of separatists. “European money for the enemies of Europe” has become a new genre of political absurdity.

And so Moldova enters its decisive winter: with empty wallets, heavy debts, and an electorate tired of promises. The Kremlin does not need to invent new strategies — it simply waits for disappointment to do its work. Every mistake in Chișinău is a gift to Moscow, every wasted euro a stone on the scales of revenge.

The question is no longer whether the pro-Russian forces will return, but how quickly and at what price. And when that happens, it will not be a sudden collapse, but the result of years of slow erosion — indifference, fear of conflict, and a habit of trading sovereignty for short-term comfort.

This is how victories are lost before the battle even begins.

As a reminder, on September 28, Moldovan citizens will elect a new parliament and, accordingly, the country’s political course for the coming years. The pro-European party of Moldovan President Maia Sandu may lose control of the government after the parliamentary elections. Instead, pro-Russian politicians have a chance to strengthen their positions.

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