Many readers may ask, “Moldova — where’s that?”

Moldova, a small country of 33,000 sq km and a population less than half NZ’s, is wedged between Ukraine where NATO and Russia have been warring for 11 years, and Romania, a NATO member loyal to the Empire. Supposedly, Russian “peacekeepers” already sit in the separatist Transnistria region on Moldova’s eastern edge. If a pro-Russian government arises in Moldova, more could stream in, adding to, but far from completing the Russian encirclement of Ukraine. 

Russians would also be directly across the Prut River from Romania.  Just beyond that border is the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, NATO’s largest hub in southeastern Europe and thus important for NATO’s war in Ukraine. The prospect of Russian troops stationed legally within some km of such an installation is why Moldova matters to NATO’s warlords.  

Both NATO/EU and Russia are working hard to discredit each other’s candidates in the election scheduled for this Saturday. President Maia Sandu leads the pro-NATO Party of Action and Solidarity; the Patriotic Bloc is the main pro-Russian rival. The effect is already visible: polls show the race too close to call, with PAS hovering near 36 percent and the Patriotic Bloc just a step behind or even ahead in some surveys.  The pro-European camp could lose ground despite Sandu’s personal popularity.  

Alexander Mercouris discusses NATO’s machinations in Moldova at the 28-minute point in yesterday’s address—