"Gagauzia is carefully chosen. It is in the south of Moldova and has a history of separatist sentiment. The Kremlin might well be hoping to stoke that (just as its spies have fueled unrest in the country as a whole) and so cause headaches for the pro-Western Moldovan government as the country approaches presidential elections by December.

There is nothing covert about this. Russia is acting in the open. Evghenia Gutul, the pro-Kremlin governor of Gagauzia, signed an agreement during her visit to Moscow, which stipulates that all pensioners and public sector employees in the region can apply for a monthly payment equivalent to $100 (in a country where the average pension is $220.)

According to the plan, 25,000 out of Gagauzia's 120,000 residents, who are mostly Orthodox Gagauz, a Turkic ethnic group, are eligible. The annual bill for the Russians would be about $30m."

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That's a cheap way to buy a neighboring country... cheaper than paying Republicans in the US and hacking Dems emails.

'Specially since Ukraine isn't for sale... Vlad may have to save face with Moldovia.