Kyiv and Chisinau are discussing the possibility of returning Ukrainian draft dodgers staying in Moldova, some of whom have been granted asylum in the country, Ukraine’s ambassador Marko Shevchenko said on July 23.
The bureau said that an investigation into the excessive use of law enforcement authority had been opened regarding the border guard's actions.
According to data seen by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Moldovan service, 7,700 Ukrainian men crossed into Moldova in the first six months of 2024.
"We have surpassed the barrier of promise to delivery," Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna told the Financial Times (FT) ahead of the opening of the negotiations.
The announcement follows an agreement by EU ambassadors from last week. Officials in both Kyiv and Brussels were pushing for the June starting date before Hungary takes over from Belgium in chairing the EU.
Two residents of Kazakhstan, Altai Zhakanbayev and Meiram Karatayev, crossed the border into Moldova on June 18 and were put on an international wanted list, Ukraine's National Police said.
EU ambassadors agreed on the framework for the EU accession talks for Ukraine and Moldova, allowing talks to start on June 25, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU announced on June 14.
Czech police arrested a Moldovan man on June 14 under suspicion of involvement in the murder of a 9-year-old Ukrainian girl in Germany, who disappeared on her way to school on June 3.
The U.S., U.K., and Canada issued a joint statement on June 13, warning of Russian interference in the leadup to the Moldovan presidential election in October.
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Evghenia Gutul, the governor of Moldova's Gagauzia region, for her ties to pro-Russian oligarch and politician Ilan Shor, the U.S. Treasury announced on June 12.
The changes, which were approved by the parliament the previous week, apply some wartime treason laws to peacetime, extend punishments, and create a new category of laws for assisting a foreign state.
They are suspected of spraying a stencil of a red coffin at the foot of a building in central Paris with the words “Soldats français en Ukraine” ("French soldier in Ukraine").
Czech Minister for European Affairs Martín Dvořák has urged the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union to advance accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, according to the Czech Press Agency (CTK).
Igor Gorgan, who lost his post after pro-Western President Maia Sandu took office in 2021, continues to use his contacts in the Defense Ministry and pass sensitive information on military aid for Ukraine, the investigation said, citing accessed Telegram correspondence.
Sixty members of parliament, including 59 from the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), voted in favor of the declaration. Parties with close ties with Moscow refused to participate in the vote.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Moldova on May 29 to meet with President Maia Sandu and announce support worth $50 million to help Chisinau transition away from Russian energy dependence and further integrate with the EU, amid warnings of heightened hybrid threats from Russia.
"It (partnership) will allow to jointly address common security challenges, make our engagement more effective and explore new areas of cooperation," European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell said.
The European Council agreed to open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova last December. Chisinau has moved closer to Europe over recent months amid repeated warnings that the Kremlin is attempting to carry out a destabilization campaign inside the country's borders.
Moldova and the EU intend to sign a security agreement in the next week, increasing cooperation in the spheres of defense, cyber threats, and foreign interference to "unprecedented levels," the Financial Times reported on May 14.
One of the main priorities of Poland's EU presidency next year will be the accession efforts of Ukraine, Moldova, and Western Balkan countries, Polish President Andrzej Duda said on May 1, RMF 24 reported.
Members of Moldova's pro-Russian opposition parties met in Moscow on April 21 to establish a new anti-European political bloc aimed at derailing Moldova's planned accession to the European Union, Bloomberg reported.
Passengers and staff were evacuated from the Chisinau International Airport in Moldova's capital on April 21 due to an explosion threat.
The U.S. is deepening cooperation with the Moldovan government amid potential threats from Russia to undermine its stability, Ned Price, deputy to the U.S. representative to the U.N., told a Kyiv Independent reporter on April 11.
The European Union plans to provide lethal military aid to Moldova, EU Ambassador to Moldova Janis Mazeiks told reporters in Chisinau on April 10.
The drone allegedly attacked a military facility in the Rybnitsa district, six kilometers from the Ukrainian state border, as of 2:35 p.m. local time.
Fragments of what appears to be a Russian Shahed-type attack drone have been found in Moldova, around 500 meters from the border with Ukraine, the Moldovan Border Police reported on April 4.
Romania's Defense Ministry has proposed a draft law that would enable its troops to be deployed to protect Romanian citizens outside of Romania's territory, Romanian newspaper Adevarul reported on April 3.
Moldovan, Romanian, and American troops are holding joint exercises JCET-2024 (Joint Combined Exchange Training) in Moldova between April 1 and 19, the Moldovan military said.
Interior Ministry put Vitaly Ignatiev, the chief negotiator for Moldova's Russian-occupied Transnistria region, on the wanted list in Ukraine. The corresponding publication appeared on the Interior Ministry's database tracing non March 29.
President Volodymyr Zelensky approved on March 29 Oleksiy Danilov, the former National Security and Defense Council secretary, as the next Ukrainian ambassador to Moldova.
The decree on Marko Shevchenko's dismissal was published on the Presidential Office's website on March 29.
Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi announced on March 19 that a Russian diplomat had been expelled from the country after Russian presidential elections were held in Transnistria, a region internationally recognized as part of Moldova.
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