Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to occupy Moldova as the war in Ukraine approaches the first anniversary of the outbreak.
According to foreign media such as AFP, President Zelensky made this comment at the special summit of the European Union (EU) held in Brussels, Belgium on the 9th (local time). In his speech, he said, “I have received President Putin’s plan to take down and occupy Moldova.” President Zelensky said he had forwarded the information to Moldova. The Moldovan Intelligence and Security Service (SIS) said in a statement that day, “Russian operations aimed at bringing down Moldova and destroying public order have been revealed through information obtained by Ukraine and us.”
Moldova, a small country in Eastern Europe, has a population of 4 million (including areas dominated by pro-Russian forces), and became independent with the fall of the Soviet Union as the Ukraine. As the eastern region of Transnistria is currently occupied by pro-Russian forces, the possibility of a Russian attack has risen since the start of the war in Ukraine. Ukraine and Moldova applied for EU membership after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year and were granted membership in June last year. Moldova is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Meanwhile, pro-Western Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita of Moldova suddenly resigned on the 10th. It is said that he expressed his resignation, saying that he would take responsibility for the deepening economic difficulties following the war in Ukraine.
