Could Moldova be next on Putin’s hit list?

Moldova, a country sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania and one of the poorest nations in Europe, has had the biggest influx of refugees of any country relative to the size of its own population since the Russian invasion of Ukraine nearly seven weeks ago.

About 400,000 refugees have crossed over Ukraine’s western border into the non-European Union nation so far, with 100,000 staying and the remainder transiting through. As a proportion of its 2.6 million population, no other country has borne as great a burden in accommodating refugees from this war than Moldova.

However, aside from dealing with the refugee crisis, Moldovans are afraid for their own safety. Many fear that they may be next on Putin’s hit list.

No three words scare Moldovans more than "if Odesa falls", The Irish Times public affairs editor Simon Carswell told the In the News podcast.

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They’re also concerned about Transnistria, the Russian-controlled territory within Moldova controlled by secessionists that stretches along Ukraine’s border, said Carswell. This territory could offer Putin another way to push west beyond Ukraine in his grand plan to annex more of the region.

“Moldovans biggest fear is that Russians will conquer Odesa and Odesa is very close to us,” Moldovan student Laura told the podcast. “If they get there, we just know the next will be us. So most Moldovans have our bags prepared.”

Today on the podcast, could Moldova be next on Putin’s hit list?

In the News is presented by reporters Sorcha Pollak and Conor Pope.