Russia Expels Moldovan Diplomat in Reciprocal Action Over Drone Incident

The Kremlin has expelled a Moldovan diplomat in a tit-for-tat response to Chisinau's earlier expulsion of a Russian embassy employee. This action follows Moldova's decision to declare a Russian embassy staff member persona non grata over the crash of a drone in Moldovan territory.

Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday that it had summoned Moldova's ambassador, Lilian Darii. During the meeting, Darii was informed that a member of the Moldovan embassy staff had been declared unacceptable, citing the principle of reciprocity. The ministry stated that a strong protest was lodged with the ambassador regarding Moldova's decision on October 23 to declare an employee of the Russian embassy in Chisinau persona non grata.

According to the ministry's statement, Moldova's move was made under the formal pretext of the alleged discovery of debris from an unmanned aerial vehicle carrying explosives on Moldovan territory, which Russia described as "another unfriendly step." The ministry asserted that the "true goal" of Moldova's action was to "further undermine the centuries-long history of Russian-Moldovan relations."

Last month, Moldovan President Maia Sandu reported that a "Russian attack drone" had violated the country's airspace and crashed near residential homes and an energy facility. Following this incident, Moldova declared a staff member of the Russian embassy persona non grata.

Drones have been observed penetrating Moldovan territory on multiple occasions since Russia initiated its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Relations between Russia and former Soviet states, including Moldova, have significantly deteriorated since the invasion, further complicated by the aspirations of some of these states to join the European Union.

In a related development on Sunday, Moldova officially inaugurated a new power line connecting the country to neighboring Romania and the broader European grid. This initiative aims to reduce Moldova's dependence on Russian energy. The 400-kilovolt extra-high-voltage line, stretching from the city of Vulcanesti to Chisinau, will allow Moldova to lessen its reliance on the Cuciurgan thermal power plant located in Transnistria.

Other European-aligned nations in the Black Sea region have reported experiencing renewed attacks, which they attribute to Moscow. An example cited is a drone strike that reportedly sank a cargo ship off Romania's Black Sea coast in October.