On Friday, Putin signed a decree that allows residents of the separatist region of Moldova to obtain Russian citizenship without having to live in Russia or speak Russian.
On Saturday, the president of Moldova commented on this issue: – They probably need more people to send them to the war in Ukraine.
She suggested it one of Russia's tactics aimed at putting pressure on Moldova in connection with its efforts to reintegrate Transnistria, a Moscow-backed region in eastern Moldova where Russian troops have been stationed since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Lenin monument in Tiraspol, the capital of Transnistria. Illustrative photoPictocracy / Shutterstock
— Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, most of the region's inhabitants adopted Moldovan citizenship because they felt safer having the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova, not Russia, Sandu emphasized during the security conference in Tallinn.
“Russia has nothing to say here”
Moldova received candidate status for joining the European Union in 2022, and started formal accession negotiations in 2024. The pro-European Action and Solidarity Party, from which Sandu comes, has a clear majority in parliament after winning the 2025 elections, despite a hybrid campaign of interference from Russia.
Asked whether Putin might block Moldova's membership in the European Union because of the Transnistria issue, Sandu replied: — Only the European Union can decidewhether Moldova will become part of it or not. Russia has nothing to say here.
