#moldova

#moldova

Ukraine and its neighbor Moldova both experienced power outages on Saturday amid problems on Ukraine's grid, officials said. The grid emergency caused a halt to Kyiv's water supply and metro operations, while most districts in Moldova's capital, Chisinau, were without electricity, they said.

On the morning of November 25, a Russian drone crashed onto the grounds of a farm in the village of Puiesti, 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Romania's border with Moldova. The horrified owner of the farm told local media that he was at home with his family when he heard a very loud bang. A drone had crashed into a tree. Many villagers later gave graphic accounts to the Romanian media, with some saying they feared a war.

German and Romanian fighter jets scrambled on November 25 to track the latest in a series of drone incursions into Romania's airspace as Russia continues to attack targets just across the Danube River in neighboring Ukraine. Two drones entered the NATO-member's airspace and six were reported in Moldova, where one fell on the roof of a building but did not explode. This follows an incident last week when a Russian drone hit a Turkish LPG tanker moored on the Ukrainian side of the river.

With its plain white walls and barred windows, the building in Moldova's capital, Chisinau, also offers a splash of color in the sign with the bold pink lettering right above the entrance: Queer Cafe. "After we put it up above the entrance, all the threats came," Grigorita, the 27-year-old manager of the cafe, told DW. "But no," Grigorita said. "That sign is not going anywhere. It's the whole point of having a queer space in the city: It should be visible from the outside."

With over 99.5% of ballots counted, the PAS, led by President Maia Sandu, received 50.03% of the vote, compared to 24.26% for the pro-Russian Patriotic Bloc, according to results published on the election commission's website.

Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Moldova has been popping up in the news with increasing frequency. The Republic of Moldova is a small country on Ukraine's southwestern border, and in the spring of 2022, it seemed possible that Russia might also invade and occupy it. This would have opened up a second front for Ukraine and brought Russia right up to the southeastern border of both the EU and NATO.

Moldova's court sentenced Yevgenia Gutsul to seven years in prison for funneling Russian money to finance the banned pro-Moscow Sor party, further straining relations with Moscow.