Why is Moldova Important?

In the past year, Moldova has increasingly entered the spotlight due to the country's proximity to Russia's War in Ukraine. Missile fragments have landed in Moldovan fields, Russian war maps have shown arrows indicating planned advances into Moldova, and Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure have caused widespread blackouts across this small European nation.

Nestled between Romania and Ukraine, Moldova lies between between a resurgent Russia and the pull of the Western democracies. Moldova is a neutral nation, but hopes to join the European Union soon.

Since Moldova's independence from the Soviet Union in 1992, Moldovans have worked to assert their sovereignty and move past the era when outside rulers decided the nation's fate.

Moldova has made strides toward further integrating in to the European economic and political sphere. Under the pro-EU president Maia Sandu, Moldova has applied for EU membership and has started to conform to Western political norms. Nonetheless, Moldovans today are grappling with whether to continue their historic association with Moscow, integrate with the West, or forge their own neutral path.