Moldova needs ‘massive support’ during Ukraine war: UN chief

STORY: “Moldova needs and deserves massive support, including budget support to match its generosity and to preserve stability,” Guterres said during a joint news conference following the meeting, noting that the country has received the most refugees from Ukraine in proportion to its own population.

Moldovan Prime Minister Gavrilita expressed solidarity with the Ukrainian people and refuted reports that Russia may pull Moldova into the war.

Concerns over hostilities escalating in Moldova have increased in recent days, after pro-Russian separatists in the country’s Transdniestria region blamed Kyiv for what they said were shootings, explosions and cross-border drone incursions.

Moldova, a tiny, mainly Romanian-speaking country wedged between Romania and Ukraine, has faced an unresolved separatist conflict for 30 years. A contingent of Russian peacekeepers is based in mainly Russian-speaking Transdniestria, a breakaway state that’s unrecognised internationally and stretches along most of the Ukrainian border.