U.S. sanctions Russia-backed actors over Moldovan destabilization protests

By FATIMA HUSSEIN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. sanctioned a group of Russian-intelligence linked individuals Monday for their role in allegedly helping the Kremlin destabilize Moldova’s democratically elected government through protests in the nation’s capitol earlier this year. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated seven members of a group linked to sanctioned Moldovan oligarch, Ilan Shor, currently in exile in Israel, and leader of Moldova’s pro-Russia Shor Party. The Shor Party supports a group calling itself Movement for the People, which organized the anti-government protest in Moldova’s capital earlier this year.