Moldova will invest in air defense after repeated Russian drone incursions, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said, RFE/RL reported. She spoke at the country's independence celebrations on 27 August alongside the Ukrainian and Romanian presidents, hours after another group of drones entered Moldovan airspace during Russian strikes on Ukraine. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says the crossings show Putin continuing to normalize the threat that Russia's strikes on western Ukraine pose to European states.

"We cannot be intimidated"

Russian drones have violated the airspace of Moldova and Romania dozens of times, Sandu noted. She met Romanian President Nicușor Dan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Chișinău for the anniversary.

"And today, on the eve of our holiday, Russian drones invaded our airspace with the obvious aim of intimidating us. And now I want to say clearly, in the presence of our friends—we cannot be intimidated. We are investing in air defense in order to have the capability to protect our people and infrastructure," she said.

Sandu also called on every country of the free world to help Ukraine, and specifically to strengthen its air defense before winter. While Ukraine fights in the east, she said, Moldova can sleep calmly. Russian drones have breached Moldovan airspace repeatedly before this month.

Five drones from the Ukrainian border

Moldova's Defense Ministry reported five unidentified drones entering Moldovan airspace from various points along the border area with Ukraine in Odesa Oblast early on 27 August, the day after a single drone crossed the border and left minutes later. The five crossings ran from 03:56 to 06:02, and each drone flew over the country briefly before turning back toward Ukraine, following Russian air attacks there, the ministry said.

ISW says these incidents show that Putin continues to normalize the threat that Russia's strike campaign against the westernmost parts of Ukraine poses to European states, including Moldova and eastern NATO members. The crossings also show the Kremlin accepting the risk that its war can damage other states. 

Moldova is not in NATO or the EU, and it is a neutral state. Russian drones have crossed its airspace illegally around 70 times since the start of the full-scale war, Moldova's National Army says. Defense Minister Anatolie Nosatîi called the situation extremely serious after one incursion this month halted air traffic over the country for 15 minutes, and said the army needs modernizing.

Romania shoots, Bulgaria clears up

Unlike Moldova, the NATO members in the region act on what reaches them. Romania intercepts what crosses in, and Bulgaria destroys what drifts to its coast:

• 26 June: Bulgaria's navy destroyed a drifting drone seven nautical miles off Kranevo.
• 21 July: Bulgarian, Romanian, and Turkish ships destroyed a drifting drone 21 nautical miles off Ahtopol.
• 24–26 July: Romanian F-16s downed three drones, the country's first shootdowns at home.
• Early August: Romanian jets scrambled before Ukraine shot the drone down.
• 16 August: a Spanish F/A-18 downed a drone north of Galați, the fourth over Romania this year, the Defense Ministry said.
• 20 August: a Romanian F-16 destroyed an explosive-laden sea drone with its cannon near an offshore gas platform. President Nicușor Dan blamed Russia.
• 22 August: two more drone wrecks turned up on Bulgarian beaches, one of them a Russian decoy without a warhead.

Moscow may instigate a crisis in Moldova's Russian-occupied Transnistria region to destabilize the country ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for September, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on June 12, according to Moldovan outlet Newsmaker.

"All these years, Russia has been using the residents of Transnistria and can provoke an even greater crisis at any moment if it suits its plans in Moldova," Sandu said.

"We can expect this crisis to deepen in the coming months, before the elections."

The president's comments come after Transnistria declared a 30-day state of emergency on June 11, due to a sharp reduction in natural gas supplies.

The unrecognized region, located along Moldova's eastern border with Ukraine, has faced mounting energy shortages since January, when Russian gas giant Gazprom halted deliveries.

Sandu, a pro-European leader of the country, warned that Moscow could combine voter bribery and political manipulation with "blackmail" in Transnistria.

"Russia may promise assistance in exchange for votes on the Right Bank. We can expect all sorts of games," the president said.

In February, Moldova's government revealed that Transnistria rejected a 60 million euros ($62 million) EU energy aid package under pressure from Moscow.

The Moldovan president assured that the country's institutions are monitoring the risks and pledged that the elections would be "free and fair," despite growing instability.

Sandu emphasized that Chisinau is prepared to support the population in Transnistria but must first address "the main problem — the withdrawal of Russian troops."

"This is a key issue that we must resolve peacefully, because otherwise we will not be able to justify our financial support," she said.

Moscow continues to maintain a military presence in Transnistria, which has been under the control of pro-Russian separatists since the early 1990s. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in February that around 1,000 to 1,500 Russian troops are currently stationed in the region.  

Chisinau has repeatedly called for the peaceful reintegration of Transnistria and the withdrawal of Russian forces, citing it as essential to Moldova's security and development.

Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean earlier told the Financial Times that Russia plans to send 10,000 troops to Transnistria and establish a pro-Kremlin government in Moldova.

Russia preparing strategic reserves for conflicts beyond Ukraine, Ukraine warns

“According to our intelligence, Russia has started to prepare strategic reserves, which indicates plans for combat operations not only in Ukraine,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said

The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir