Moldova Is Next Target if Ukraine Falls, Says German Foreign Minister

Support for Ukraine guarantees the survival of neighboring Moldova, which would become Putin’s next target if he bypasses Ukrainian defenses, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Tuesday at a conference to address concerns about expanding Russian influence in the region.

“Everything we do to support Ukraine also means promoting stability with regard to Moldova,” Baerbock said, according to Reuters. “It is clear what is the biggest concern of the people here: if Ukraine falls, Moldova is the next country in line,” said the German Foreign Minister.

Annalena Baerbock visited Chisinau for the Partnership Platform with Moldova, together with her counterparts from France, Romania, Poland, the Netherlands and Lithuania.

Germany, one of Kyiv’s main military backers in Europe, initiated the platform after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, pitching it as part of broader efforts to stabilize Moldova’s economy and protect it from Russian disinformation.

Moldova, which has a Romanian-speaking majority and a large Russian-speaking minority, has alternated between pro-Russian and pro-Western governments since the fall of the Soviet Union, and currently has a heavily Western-oriented administration. Moscow has troops stationed in Transnistria where pro-Russian separatists broke from Chisinau’s control in a brief war in the early 1990s.

In her turn, Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who has accused Russia of trying to topple her government, said Moldova still faces serious challenges and urged partners to step up their support.

“Russia’s war against Ukraine, which we have condemned from day one, has caused enormous damage to our economy. The uncertainty caused by the war continues to seriously hamper our economic development and will continue to hamper it as long as the war lasts,” she said.

Agreements were signed within the platform to provide Moldova with over 300 million euros in loans and 80 million euros in grants, the government’s press service said.