Moldovans will vote to choose a new 101-seat legislature on Sunday, in an election many view as a choice between Moldova’s continued path toward European Union membership or closer ties with Russia.

Ahead of the Sept. 28 vote, multiple online monitoring groups have tracked sprawling online propaganda and disinformation campaigns attributed to Russia. They say the campaigns aim to diminish support for the ruling pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity, or PAS, in a vote many view as a geopolitical choice between East and West.

Moldovan authorities have long accused Russia of conducting a hybrid war — meddling in elections, disinformation campaigns, illicitly funding pro-Russian parties — to try to derail the country’s path toward European Union membership.

Moscow has repeatedly denied meddling in Moldova.

Moldovan law enforcement has conducted a series of raids in the run-up to the election, as part of investigations into voter corruption, illegal party financing, and money laundering, allegedly tied to the Shor “criminal organization.”

During a raid on Sept. 18 in which one person was detained, police said they seized cash, laptops, bank documents, and that the suspects were receiving instructions via Telegram from “curators in the Russian Federation” on how to distribute and comment on disinformation videos on Facebook, TikTok, and Telegram. Shor, whose populist Russia-friendly Shor Party was declared unconstitutional in 2023 and banned, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

In the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moldova applied to join the EU and was granted candidate status that year. Brussels agreed to open accession negotiations last year. Moldova’s westward shift further irked Moscow and tensions between the two nations skyrocketed.