Moldova unveils meagre defence budget growth amid lingering Russian threat
Moldova participates in the KFOR peacekeeping mission. (Photo: Moldovan MoD)
Despite the latest incremental increase to its defence budget and the danger of the war in Ukraine spilling over into Transnistria, funding remains too low for Moldova to buy new military hardware.
The Moldovan MoD announced on 25 August an increase of MDL14.5 million (USD750,000) for the 2022 budget, as the shadow of the Russo-Ukrainian war remains over the small country.
Moldova faces a security threat from about 1,700 Russian troops stationed in the breakaway Transnistria region that also borders southwestern Ukraine.
Citing so-called ‘facts of oppression’ against Russian-speaking civilians, Rustam Minnekayev, the commander of the Russian Central Military District, said in late April that a second phase of the Russian invasion of Ukraine would extend ‘access to Transnistria’.
This triggered a diplomatic incident between Chisinau and Moscow, and prompted calls within
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