Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine shattered many of the assumptions that had shaped Europe since the end of the Cold War. In the optimistic atmosphere of the early post-Communist era, many believed that the age of imperial domination had ended for good. Economic interdependence, international law, and political cooperation were expected to gradually replace the old logic of force. The promise of a Europe whole, free, and at peace appeared not only desirable, but irreversible.
Thus, an honest reflection on power in Europe today requires us to confront an uncomfortable truth — one that countries in Eastern Europe understood long before 2022, as states emerging from Communism quickly discovered that formal sovereignty did not automatically guarantee freedom from pressure or external interference.
It was a lesson the Republic of Moldova learned early. In 1992, only a few months after declaring independence, we had to defend our sovereignty in a brief but bloody war in the Transnistrian region, fueled by Russian intervention. The unresolved conflict that followed became a permanent instrument of pressure against our state and a persistent obstacle to our democratic development.
Over the years, the tools of pressure evolved, but the logic remained the same. Russia repeatedly used trade and energy dependence as instruments of coercion. In 2013, Moldovan wine exports were embargoed as punishment for Moldova’s Western orientation and its decision to advance toward association with the European Union. The price of Russian gas was always an instrument of political blackmail.
Moldova was not alone in its predicament. In 2014, Russia illegally occupied Crimea and launched its aggression in eastern Ukraine. Yet even after this watershed moment, many in the West still hoped that certain red lines would ultimately be respected. Some chose pragmatism. Others prioritized economic considerations. Many may have sincerely believed that post-Soviet Russia would eventually integrate into a rules-based European order — provided that its so-called “legitimate interests” were sufficiently accommodated.
Countries closer to the frontier had fewer illusions. We watched as other former Communist countries joined the European Union, their economies growing, their societies prospering, and their democracies becoming stronger and more confident. Meanwhile, Moldova continued to live in the shadow of a power from which it had tried to break free. When faced with embargoes or energy blackmail, Moldovan officials would travel to Moscow seeking temporary reprieve. Political life often revolved around managing dependency rather than overcoming it. Over time, many Moldovans grew accustomed to the belief that our country was too small to genuinely determine its own future.
This sense of powerlessness did not stem solely from Russia’s power. It also emerged from within our own state. For decades, Moldova was weakened by corruption, oligarchic capture, and clientelistic networks that treated state institutions as private instruments of influence and enrichment. For many of these networks, partnership with Moscow was not a burden, but a convenient arrangement that helped preserve their own privileges. As a result, democratic institutions remained fragile and citizens lost confidence that politics could serve the common good. Many decided to seek a better life abroad.
Fortunately, societies are not condemned to remain prisoners of their past — or present.
Beginning with the civic mobilization and elections that led to the removal from power in 2019 of the meanwhile convicted oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc, and even more decisively through the vote in the presidential elections of 2020 and the parliamentary elections of 2021, Moldovans sent a clear signal: they rejected the logic of the captured state, whether from within or from the outside. They rejected corruption as a system of governance. They rejected the idea that Moldova’s future should continue to be negotiated through opaque arrangements between oligarchic interests and external centers of power.
For the first time since independence, Moldova began not only to speak seriously about democratic reform, but to undertake it with determination. We started rebuilding institutions, restoring the rule of law, fighting corruption, and strengthening accountability. And just as this process began in earnest, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, decisively transforming our political consciousness.
As Europe realized that a new geopolitical era had begun, Moldova too understood that the long period of strategic ambiguity was over. For three decades, our country had oscillated uncertainly between geopolitical directions, attempting to balance incompatible realities. But the return of large-scale war in our neighborhood made something unmistakably clear: the threat had become existential. In this new world order, Moldova saw that its future depended on belonging to a community capable of guaranteeing our peace and sovereignty. In March 2022, when we applied for membership of the European Union, we knew that our very survival was at stake.
At the same time, we entered into crisis-management mode. Moldova opened its homes to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russian aggression. Families and communities mobilized with extraordinary solidarity despite limited resources. Together with our international partners, we worked to protect vulnerable households from the effects of the energy crisis and inflation. We expanded social assistance and introduced compensation mechanisms to help citizens endure an extremely difficult period.
But something else changed as well. For the first time since independence, the country had a clear strategic direction. And it was precisely here that Moldova discovered a new source of strength, despite dealing with hitherto unprecedented threats.
While Ukraine’s resistance allowed Moldova to remain peaceful, our country became the target of increasingly aggressive hybrid attacks. We had experienced Russian propaganda and destabilization attempts before, but after 2022 the scale, intensity, and sophistication changed dramatically — all part and parcel of what has become a full-scale cognitive war. The objective was not only to destabilize the government or to punish us for our European choice. It was to shape perceptions, weaken social cohesion, cultivate cynicism, and ultimately convince citizens that democracy itself is inherently incapable of protecting them.
The most perilous form of domination begins when people stop believing that their choices matter. And this is one of the great lessons frontline states can offer Europe today. The battle is no longer fought only over territory. It is fought over trust, perception, and the independence of human judgment itself.
Cognitive war is not an episode. It is a condition in which democracies must now learn to operate — a reality that requires a whole-of-society response. Moldova experienced this directly during the presidential election and the referendum on European Union integration in 2024, as well as during the parliamentary elections of 2025. The scale of interference we faced was unprecedented in our modern history: illicit financing networks, massive disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks, coordinated manipulation through social media platforms, vote-buying schemes, paid protests, and sophisticated operations aimed at polarization and undermining trust in democratic institutions.
Our response had to be — and was — equally comprehensive. And ultimately, the power of our democracy prevailed against the power of lies, intimidation, and fear.
We strengthened the resilience of state institutions, reinforced the integrity of electoral processes, enhanced the capabilities of security and law enforcement agencies, invested in cybersecurity capacities, and intensified efforts to combat corruption and illegal political financing. We worked closely with journalists, civil society organizations, and international partners to expose manipulation campaigns and protect the public space from coordinated disinformation.
We also knew that if we are to protect our democracy in the long-term, we must remain faithful to its fundamental values. Freedom of expression must be protected. But freedom of expression concerns human beings — not networks of fake accounts, coordinated manipulation campaigns, or digital systems designed to artificially simulate public opinion. We cannot allow democratic openness to become a vulnerability exploited by those who seek to destroy democracy itself. We know that what is not permissible offline cannot be allowed to flourish online.
Finding the right balance between safeguarding fundamental freedoms and protecting democratic societies from large-scale manipulation will remain one of the defining challenges of our time. No country can address this challenge alone. It will require a coordinated international response among like-minded democracies — one capable of defending both freedom and truth in the digital age. And Moldova has been — and will remain — at the forefront of efforts in this regard.
Of course, Russia’s aggression was also a reminder that peace cannot survive without credible defense capabilities. It requires preparedness and strategic partnerships. As a country that experienced occupation, imposed silence, and denied sovereignty, it is deeply embedded in our historical memory that freedom is never guaranteed permanently. We know that vulnerability invites pressure, and that security cannot rest on hope alone.
For this reason, with the support of our partners, Moldova has begun investing seriously in its defense capabilities after decades of neglect and underinvestment. We can no longer accept a situation in which Russian drones and missile fragments fall literally in the backyards of our people. For many years, Moldova’s defense sector was treated as secondary, underfunded, and politically inconvenient. Today, we are learning the lessons of the war in Ukraine. We are modernizing our Armed Forces, increasing cooperation with European partners, and investing in the capacities necessary to protect our citizens — and our future. Likewise, we have taken decisive steps towards energy independence, so as never again to be held hostage through the weaponization of energy supplies. We have gone from total dependence on Russian gas to zero — something previous governments had no courage to do in three decades — while also strengthening mandatory storage obligations. Moreover, in four years, the share of renewables grew eightfold, from 3% to 25% of our electricity mix. And soon, the first high-voltage power line directly connecting Moldova’s electricity grid to the European network will be put into operation.
But just as the war in Ukraine has reminded Europe that power still matters, it has also reminded us that true strength does not emerge from the ability to dominate others through fear and coercion. Those who believed Kyiv would fall within days were proven wrong by the indomitable spirit of the Ukrainian people and by the courage of its defenders. And those who believed Moldova could be subdued simply by bribing our citizens into submission misjudged our determination.
The belief that brutal power never truly wins may sound idealistic. But that does not make it any less true. Fear can impose obedience for a time, yet it cannot extinguish a society’s desire to live freely and determine its own destiny. Indeed, the European project itself emerged from this very understanding: that peace can endure only where power is constrained by law, and where the dignity of every state and people — regardless of size — is protected.
We in Moldova firmly believe in this promise — and it is a promise that goes both ways. Because while one may still see countries like ours primarily through the lens of vulnerability, this perspective is incomplete. Moldova is not only receiving support from Europe; it also contributes to Europe’s security and democratic resilience. Because every society that resists corruption strengthens fundamental freedoms beyond its borders. Every country that withstands disinformation contributes to our continent’s informational security. Every citizen who refuses cynicism reinforces the democratic culture upon which Europe depends.
Today, as we once again confront the question of power, we must resist the temptation to return to geopolitical fatalism. The school of realism may explain the dangers of the world as it is. But it cannot become an excuse to deny the agency of smaller countries or the power of democratic choice.
The Republic of Moldova knows the weight of pressure. But we also know the strength that emerges when citizens refuse to surrender their democratic voice. Ultimately, the most important limit on power is the determination of free people not to accept the loss of their freedom.
And defending democracy today means, first and foremost, defending the freedom of every mind to remain its own. Because once this freedom is lost, no missile, tank, or army will ever be able to restore it.
Maia Sandu, born in 1972 in Risipeni, Fălești District (Republic of Moldova); Prime Minister of Moldova from June 2019 to November 2019; President of the Republic of Moldova since December 2020.
The German, edited version is available under www.kas.de/de/web/die-politische-meinung/artikel/detail/-/content/im-angesicht-brutaler-machtpolitik.