Moldova declares employee of Russian Embassy persona non grata

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Moldova declared an employee of the Russian Embassy persona non grata, as a fragment of a Russian missile shot down by Ukrainian air defenses landed in a village on the country’s border with Ukraine early on Monday.

“Russia's ambassador was summoned earlier today and notified of our decision to declare a Russian diplomat persona non grata,” Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu said on his Twitter account.

Popescu noted that intensified attacks by Russia on Ukraine are “having severe spillover effects on Moldova, threatening our energy and human security.”

Earlier, Popescu announced that his country condemned Russia’s “continued aggression against Ukraine.”

“Attacks on water infrastructure and ensuing stress on the river could put the entire region in danger of floods,” Popescu further expressed.

He added that the missile shot down by Ukrainian air defenses targeted a Ukrainian dam on the Nistru River.

“The appalling strikes on critical infrastructure reverberate beyond Ukraine's borders and pose a direct threat to Moldova’s energy – and human – security,” he concluded.

Explosions were heard across multiple regions in Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, early on Monday, leaving many areas with no electricity or water.

Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been the target of Russian airstrikes since the start of the war in February.​​​​​​​