Every day, Russia’s brutal war of aggression in Ukraine continues. This war has been raging directly on the doorstep of the people in Moldova for two and a half years now. Moldova has taken in more Ukrainian refugees per capita than any other country. In the shadow of this brutal aggression, Putin also wanted to plunge the country into chaos. He turned off the gas flow to Moldova and triggered rapid inflation as imports from Russia fell away. Moldova’s economy took a severe blow and inflation rose to almost 30 percent. And Putin is using pro-Russian separatists in the country to spark trouble.

Yet instead of chaos and collapse in Moldova, Putin achieved the opposite: The country has moved closer to the European Union. Thanks to a government and a President who resisted Putin’s hybrid attacks on a daily basis. And thanks to our clear stance in Europe. In April 2022, only 40 days after Russia’s full-scale invasion, we launched the Moldova Platform in conjunction with partners. For it was clear that Putin wanted to exploit the dramatic situation and deliberately destabilise the country. Acting in this situation and preventing a looming crisis is what diplomacy is all about. With an energy fund co-financed by Germany, Moldova ensured that cold, darkness and demoralisation did not gain a foothold in the homes of its people in winter. With our help, Moldova has been able to stabilise its economy, withstand Russia’s hybrid attacks and get inflation under control. We are not relaxing our efforts and are continuing to provide Moldova with concrete support.