The European Union has imposed sanctions on five individuals and one organization responsible for destabilizing actions in the Republic of Moldova.
The sanctions list includes Evghenia Guţul, who is the Head (Bashkan) of the Autonomous Territorial Entity of Gagauzia, and according to the EU, is responsible for promoting separatism in the region, threatening the constitutional order, sovereignty, and independence of Moldova.
In addition to Evghenia Guţul, the sanctions list includes Deputy Head of the Department for External Relations, Yuri Kuznetsov, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee, Ilya Uzun, and Deputy Bashkan, Mikhail Vlakh. The Russian non-governmental organization, Eurasia, aiming to promote Russian interests abroad, including Moldova, and its director and founder, Nelly Parutenko, have also been sanctioned.
Evghenia Guţul is known for her pro-Russian views, she met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and mayors of some regions of Russia.
Gagauzia is an integral part of the Republic of Moldova, located in the southern part of Modova. In the east, the autonomy borders with the Odessa region of Ukraine. The population of Gagauzia is 155 thousand people, most of them are Gagauz by nationality (82.1%).
