Ukraine reports Russian plan leak amid new warning from Moscow to Moldova
Signs of tension may be emerging within the Russian army, while Moscow has also turned its political messages toward another country in the region.
According to the Ukrainian news agency RBK, a leaked Russian military plan allowed Ukrainian defenders to prepare several days in advance for an offensive near Vovchansk. The leak has been linked to the ATES partisan movement, which has reportedly carried out several similar operations in occupied territories.
Leak from the 82nd brigade
According to RBK’s report, a member of Russia’s 82nd Mechanized Brigade passed detailed plans of the Vovchansk operation to the Ukrainian military. The documents allegedly included the locations of Russian troops, as well as the exact positions of armored vehicles and artillery units.
As a result, RBK claims, Ukrainian forces launched targeted counterattacks that attempted to neutralize the Russian unit before the offensive began. The information was made public by the ATES partisan network, which regularly carries out acts of sabotage against the Russian army.
Although the information has not yet been confirmed by independent sources, the Ukrainian military has reported two major clashes in the Vovchansk area in recent days.
The role of the ATES partisan movement
ATES is an underground resistance network operating in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine and along the Russian border. According to the group, some of its members are men who were forcibly conscripted into the Russian army and later turned against the system.
The movement claims to have conducted several acts of sabotage, including damage to railway lines and the destruction of military equipment. While its intelligence occasionally reaches the Ukrainian armed forces, independent verification of such reports remains rare.
Moscow warns Moldova: “One country has already made that mistake”
As new military tensions unfold in Ukraine, Russia has also sent a message to another country in the region. According to 444.hu, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Sunday criticized Moldova, accusing its leadership of taking a “hostile direction” toward Russia.
“This is a rather confrontational and unfriendly course toward our country. In our opinion, Moldova’s current leadership is making a serious mistake,” Peskov told TASS.
(Photo: Facebook / Dorin Recean)
Upon taking office, Recean emphasized that Moldova’s future lies in cooperation with Europe. His government has since made the advancement of EU accession a top priority, while openly criticizing Russian interference attempts and warning that Moscow uses various tools — including election manipulation and hybrid warfare — to undermine Moldova’s European course.
The sharper Russian response follows the adoption last week in Chișinău of Moldova’s new National Security and Defense Strategy 2035, which names Russia as the country’s main security threat. In reaction, the Kremlin’s spokesperson issued what amounted to an open warning to the recently re-elected Moldovan government.
“They believe that building relations with Europe means a complete condemnation of Russia. One country has already made such a mistake. It brought nothing good to that country,” Putin’s spokesman added, referring to Moldova’s new military strategy.