CHISINAU, February 9. /TASS/. Supporters of Gagauz autonomy's head Evghenia Gutsul are establishing a public platform, Our Autonomy, in response to the pressure from Moldova's central authorities, Gutsul's adviser Mikhail Vlah said.

"We are launching a civic platform Our Autonomy to unite all those who care about Gagauzia's future. Our mission is to defend the autonomy's special legal status, the rights of the region's residents, and our traditional values, the family and spiritual foundations of society. We see pressure from the central authorities on the state power institutions in our autonomy, on the legitimately elected head of Gagauzia. The platform is our response to what has been happening between our autonomy and the central government in recent time," he said.

According to Vlah, the platform's offices will be opened in Gagauzia's three major cities - Comrat, Ceadir-Lunga, and Vulcanesti. They will offer legal and other assistance to those who face pressure from Chisinau.

Relations between Chisinau and Cpmrat became strained in 2023 after Evghenia Gutsul, an opposition politician, won elections in the autonomy and proclaimed a course toward closer relations with Russia, criticizing Chisinau's policy of confrontation with Moscow. Moldovan authorities tried to recognized the election in Gagauzia invalid, but the Gagauz parliament sided with Gutsul. Apart from that, a series of grass-roots rallies were held in her support. However, Moldovan President Maia Sandu refused to sign a document approving Gutsul as a government member, which is required to be done under the country's laws.

Gutsul was detained at Chisinau's airport on March 25, 2025 and later was arrested as part of a criminal case related to the financing of her election campaign in 2023. Along with this, she was charged with illegally financing an opposition party. A verdict to Gutsul was pronounced on August 5, 2025. She was sentenced to seven years in prison.

In November 2025, speaker of Gagauzia's People's Assembly, or parliament, Dmitry Konstantinov announced his resignation. In December he was sentenced in absentia to 12 years behind bars on charges of financial violations of years ago. The autonomy's parliament slammed the verdict as political persecution by the central authorities.