Will Moldova fall to the Kremlin?

Vladimir Putin may now have other countries in his sights, as “ominous” signs emerge of a “hybrid campaign” being waged against Moldova, says

Lucy Williamson on the BBC. The aim appears to be to lay the groundwork for “a Kremlin‑backed coup” as Russia restricts energy supplies, plunging the former Soviet Republic into an economic crisis and forcing the resignation of the pro‑European government. A new prime minister, Dorin Recean (pictured), has been appointed, but last weekend saw a succession of street protests that were “allegedly financed by a pro‑Russian fugitive oligarch” and attended by paramilitary groups and former soldiers. “With its hands full in Ukraine,” you might think it would be “folly” for Russia to tie down its troops in Moldova, says The Washington Post. But Putin has proved himself to be the “master of folly” and Moldova’s assertion of its independence – it has sent representatives to forums hosted by the EU and Nato – has angered Putin. An attack on Moldova could be a way for the Kremlin to “save face” over its failures in Ukraine. Moldova has 2.6 million people (Ukraine has 43 million) and the country would be “hard‑pressed to offer much resistance”.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken, speaking at the Munich Security Conference last week, said that the US would “continue to stand strongly with Moldova in support of its security, its independence, its territorial integrity”, reports the Financial Times. At the same time, Rishi Sunak called for Russia’s war crimes to be tried at the International Criminal Court, something the US has traditionally resisted for fear of prosecution for its own past actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.