By Supantha Mukherjee

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc ( META ) said on Friday it had removed a network of group accounts targeting Russian-speakers in Moldova, ahead of the country's Oct. 20 election, for violation of the company's policy on fake accounts.

Moldova, with a population of about 2.5 million people, is located between Romania and Ukraine, and has a Romanian-speaking majority and a large Russian-speaking minority.

Its pro-Western President Maia Sandu seeks a second term in a presidential election this month, when the country will also hold a referendum on joining the European Union.

The fake accounts posted criticism of President Sandu, pro-EU politicians, and close ties between Moldova and Romania, and supported pro-Russia parties in Moldova, Meta said.

The company said its operation centered around about a dozen fictitious, Russian-language news brands posing as independent entities with presence on multiple internet services, including Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, OK.ru, and TikTok.

Meta said it removed seven Facebook accounts, 23 pages, one group and 20 accounts on Instagram for violating its policy, which is known as "coordinated inauthentic behaviour policy".

About 4,200 accounts followed one or more of the 23 pages and around 335,000 accounts followed one or more of the Instagram accounts, Meta said.

The company also said that the majority of the followers of the fake accounts were based outside of Moldova, which made them appear more popular.

The Moldovan government has denounced persistent Russian meddling in the country's affairs, while Moscow has accused Sandu and her team of fomenting "Russophobia".