Russia Accused Of Running Training Camp In Serbia To Incite Unrest Ahead Of Moldova Elections (Worthy News Investigation)

Key Facts

Published: October 23, 2025 Location: BELGRADE/CHISINAU/BUDAPEST Source: Worthy News Investigation, Wire Services

• Moldovan police allege that a riverside resort in western Serbia, Sunčana Reka, was used to train over 150 Moldovan and Romanian citizens to incite unrest before Moldova’s parliamentary elections.
• Among those linked to the camp is Sergei Andreyenkov, a decorated Russian activist associated with Putin’s United Russia party, accused of serving as an instructor at the site.
• Serbian authorities detained two Serbs with government ties but denied official involvement, while President Aleksandar Vučić suggested the operation was concealed from Serbian intelligence.
• The case highlights growing concerns over Russian influence operations in the Balkans and Eastern Europe as Moldova pursues EU integration and reforms.

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

BELGRADE/CHISINAU/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – A riverside resort in western Serbia, once marketed as “a unique oasis for rest and recreation,” is at the center of allegations that Russia used the site for training citizens to incite unrest before Moldova’s recent parliamentary elections.

Footage released by Moldovan police showed men in combat gear wielding automatic rifles at the Serbian complex. But when U.S. backed broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) visited the area this week, it found only donkeys grazing beside thatched huts — and was denied access to the property.

The resort at the center of the allegations is called “Sunčana Reka” (meaning “Sunny River” in Serbian). It is situated near the village of Gornja Koviljača, close to the Drina River in western Serbia, not far from the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The area is known for its scenic riverbanks and spa resorts near the town of Loznica, roughly 81 miles (130 kilometers) west of Belgrade.

The complex markets itself online as “a unique oasis for rest, relaxation, sports, and recreation.” However, according to Moldovan and Serbian officials the site was used between July and September 2025 to train Moldovan and Romanian citizens in “tactical exercises” intended to incite unrest ahead of Moldova’s parliamentary elections.

While most residents questioned by reporters denied noticing anything unusual, two shop assistants in a nearby grocery store said they had seen Russian-speaking visitors during the period in question. “They were in front of the store, had a drink, we communicated a bit — not much,” said one woman, identified only as Biljana. “They spoke mostly Russian. They hardly knew English.”

OVER 150 PEOPLE TRAINED

Serbian authorities confirmed that more than 150 Moldovan and Romanian citizens were trained at the 8-hectare camp between July 16 and September 12. Moldovan police later arrested 70 suspects six days before the September 28 vote, saying most had been schooled there.

Among those linked to the camp was Sergei Andreyenkov, an activist for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party.

An online fitness-tracking application showed him jogging along the Drina River near the resort in early September.

Andreyenkov, decorated by Russia’s Defense Ministry in 2024 for “strengthening the defense of the Russian Federation,” has posted photos of himself delivering military supplies to Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

Montenegro’s Vijesti news outlet cited a security source describing him as an instructor at the alleged training.

Andreyenkov and Serbian officials did not respond to requests for comment.

SERBIAN CONNECTIONS INVESTIGATED

Serbian prosecutors said neither the resort nor its owner are under investigation, though two Serbs — identified in local media as Lazar Popović and Savo Stevanović — were detained.

Both are reportedly former advisers to Serbian Minister Nenad Popović, who has been sanctioned by the United States for his close ties to Moscow.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said information about the camp did not originate from his country’s security services but from “private sources,” suggesting a possible cover-up.
“It was impossible for us not to notice. We did not notice because someone wanted us not to notice,” Vučić told local broadcaster Pink TV on October 5.

The revelations emerged after Moldova’s pro-Western Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), led by President Maia Sandu, won a majority in the September 28 elections — strengthening her government’s push toward European Union integration and reforms aimed at reducing Russian influence.

Moscow’s reported involvement reflects what analysts call the Kremlin’s ongoing strategy to undermine pro-EU governments in Eastern Europe through covert operations, disinformation, and destabilization efforts.

Russia has previously denied similar allegations. It dismissed Moldova’s 2024 claims that training camps in Serbia and Bosnia were used to interfere in its presidential elections — though authorities in Sarajevo later confirmed parts of that investigation.

RUSSIAN MILITARY PRESENCE

Adding to tensions, Russia currently maintains an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 troops in Moldova’s breakaway Transnistria region, officially described as “peacekeepers” but viewed by Chisinau and Western officials as an occupation force.

Moldovan authorities have warned that Moscow could expand its military presence to as many as 10,000 personnel if a pro-Russian government were ever installed in the capital, Chisinau.

Officials in Moldova and Western capitals say the troops, together with Moscow-backed separatists, serve as a strategic lever to pressure the country and obstruct its path toward EU and NATO military alliance integration.

For Serbia, which continues to balance historic ties with Moscow and its aspirations for EU membership, the allegations are highly sensitive. Belgrade officially denies involvement, but the case underscores growing pressure on President Vučić’s government to demonstrate independence from Russian security networks, according to a Worthy News analysis.

Investigations continue in both Moldova and Serbia as the case us seen by observers as a key test of regional transparency — and of how far Russia’s shadow operations in the Balkans and Eastern Europe still reach.

Latest Worthy News