Moldova is a tiny land-locked country located in the south-western corner of Ukraine, not very far from the port city Odessa, by the Black Sea. As Ukraine gets battered by Russian bombs and Odessa, nearly captured by the invaders, the poor country of 2.6 million wait in fear, speculating whether they are going to be Vladimir Putin’s next target.

Just like Ukraine, Moldova is also a part of the former Soviet Union that broke away in 1991 as an independent nation. In 1994, it adopted a democratic constitution as a sovereign republic. However, a strip of 250-mile land in its eastern side, called Transnistria, remains under the control of Russia-backed separatists. Just 80 kms away from the country’s capital Chisinau, it’s always a headache for Moldova. Although not recognised by any international community—not even by Moscow – Russia still has a large stockpile of Soviet-era ammunition here, guarded by 1,500 Russian soldiers.

What makes this second-poorest nation of Europe more vulnerable is that it’s neither a member of NATO nor the European Union (EU). However, just like Ukraine, the country recently filed an application for EU membership. And this move made it a target of aggressive Russia which retaliated by halting natural gas deliveries to this tiny nation. Russia’s ire is also directed towards the country because its President Maia Sandu was elected in 2020, with support from Western nations.

The threatened nation was recently visited by EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Immediately after his meeting with Sandu, Blinken expressed his strong support for “Moldova’s territorial integrity”, in a joint press briefing.

Moldova’s citizens hardly feel reassured by the support and they believe that after the fall of Ukraine, Putin’s imperialist ambition will target them. At the moment, the country’s government however, is busy handling a huge refugee influx – more than 230,000 of them – from Ukraine.

READ MORE: https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-ukraine-moldova-fears-being-putins-next-target/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/06/moldova-ukraine-war-invasion/

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/06/world/europe/ukraine-russia-moldova-transnistria.html