Four men born in the Republic of Moldova will be tried on February 23, 2026, at the Correctional Tribunal in Paris, accused of having inscribed, in June 2024, coffins and walls with messages referring to the war in Ukraine. French prosecutors believe that the action was part of a “demoralizing enterprise” against the French army, according to sources close to the case cited by AFP.
The four, aged between 30 and 50 years — three Moldovan citizens and one of still unknown nationality — are suspected of having acted between June 18 and 20, 2024.
On June 20, around 11.00 AM (12.00 PM, Romanian time), the police caught two of the men while they were painting a wall using a red spray and a stencil representing an empty coffin, next to the message “Stop the death now! Mriya Ukraine”. One of them was in charge of the inscription, while the other was on guard.
Similar messages were found on the buildings of AFP and Le Figaro newsrooms, as well as in other areas of the French capital. Some of them featured a coffin with airplane wings and the text “Mirage for Ukraine” or “Mirya” — a term that in Ukrainian means “dream”.
The two detained Moldovans stated that they were paid 100 euros per day to make these inscriptions.
Subsequent investigations revealed the existence of a third man, in Paris, who allegedly recruited them and indicated the places where they should act.
The police later identified a fourth suspect — Alexandr Grigorenco — considered the coordinator of the operation. He is described as a “fervent sympathizer of the Șor Party”, a pro-Russian formation from the Republic of Moldova, and is believed to have ordered similar actions in France just a few days earlier. Grigorenco is, according to investigators, the father-in-law of one of the authors of the inscriptions found near the National Assembly between June 6 and 8, 2024.
French authorities are investigating the case in the context of a broader series of incidents suspected to be linked to foreign influence campaigns. Among these are the vandalizing with Stars of David in the Parisian region, red hands painted on the Holocaust Memorial in Paris, or the placement of pig heads in front of mosques.
