There was a wave of euphoria and relief across Europe following the election of pro-European liberal Nicusor Dan as Romania’s new president. “For Ukraine — as a neighbour and friend — it is important to have Romania as a reliable partner. And we are confident we will,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky after Dan’s victory. Moldovan President Maia Sandu echoed the sentiment: “Congratulations, dear Nicusor Dan,” she said with visible enthusiasm. The presidential runoff was closely watched in Kyi

Editor's note: this article was updated on May 16 with the latest polling data. Just days before the Romanian presidential election runoff, the two presidential hopefuls are neck-and-neck in the polls. Polling by AtlasIntel, released on May 13, showed far-right George Simion and liberal pro-EU Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan were exactly tied at 48.2%. Both are running on an anti-establishment platform in a country seeking change. Yet, with two drastically different views on the country's future,

Protests erupted in downtown Bucharest following the Central Electoral Bureau's decision to ban Russian-backed far-right politician Calin Georgescu from running in the upcoming re-run presidential elections. Georgescu, who is openly supported by the Russian and the U.S. administrations, said this was a "direct hit against democracy." Following the announcement on March 9, Georgescu's supporters began setting the streets of Bucharest on fire and throwing bottles, stones, and firecrackers at the

VARNIȚA, Moldova — The buzzing sound of chainsaws and generators is now common in Varnița, a village of 5,000 that borders Moldova's Russian-controlled region of Transnistria. Located next to the Russian-controlled city of Bender (Tighina), the village is subordinated to Chișinău but depends on the neighbouring breakaway region for its energy infrastructure. Workers from TiraspolTransGaz, the company managing the gas supply in Transnistria, go door-to-door to make sure the gas taps are switche

Moldovan President Maia Sandu begins her second term in office on Dec. 24 in unprecedented circumstances. Russian meddling in domestic affairs is widespread, and the Kremlin makes clear their position of not acknowledging Sandu as a legitimate president of her own country. Sandu also begins her term amid an energy crisis sparked by years of dependency on Russian gas. Meanwhile, the U.S. support for Ukraine is not a certainty under the new administration, leaving neighboring Moldova in a precar

Moldova enacted a state of emergency, as the country gears up for an energy crisis at the start of 2025 following the end of Ukraine's obligations to transport Russian gas through its territory. Moldova, and especially the country's breakaway region of Transnistria, will be hit the hardest following the end of the decades-long agreement. Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said that the country has enough gas, bought on the international market, to keep the right bank of the Dniester (Nistru)

Although Russian interference has taken many forms in Moldova since its independence in 1991, the election and referendum results on Sunday shocked many pro-European Moldovans. Despite opinion polls showing clear support for entrenching the desire for EU accession into the country's constitution, the success of the EU referendum came down to the wire, with the support of the large Moldovan diaspora securing a 50.38% victory margin. The "yes" vote won by a mere 11,000 votes. Moldovan authoriti

When there was no mention of Transnistria — Moldova's Russia-led breakaway region — in Vladimir Putin's speech on Feb. 29, Moldovans sighed with relief. A day prior, the leaders of the unrecognized breakaway entity, sandwiched between Ukraine and Moldova, had asked Russia for "protection" — a plea that some saw as an invitation for Moscow's covert attack against Chisinau. There were fears that the Kremlin would repeat the February 2022 scenario when it recognized the "independence" of the Russ