Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air suspends all flights to and from Moldova due to security concerns linked to rising tensions with Russia

Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air announced on Monday that it was suspending all flights to and from Moldova due to security concerns related to rising tensions with Russia.

“Due to recent developments and the high but not imminent risk in the country’s airspace, Wizz Air has taken the difficult but responsible decision to suspend all flights to Chisinau from March 14,” the group said in a statement.

Moldova, a pro-European republic of 2.6 million people sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, has feared it could be Moscow’s next target since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine a year ago.

Transnistria, a breakaway separatist region in Moldova that is home to some 400,000 people, is supported economically and militarily by Russia.

And in recent weeks, the EU candidate country has reported “attempts at destabilization”, with the foreign ministry announcing on Monday that it had expelled two foreign nationals of unknown origin, believing them to be gathering information for a plot to overthrow the government to undermine.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu

Socialist Party supporters with signs reading ‘Peace and silence’, ‘Safe peace’, ‘Moldova are peaceful people’, ‘Don’t scare people’ protest in front of the Presidential Palace on February 25, 2023 in Chisinau, Moldova. Russian invasion of Ukraine

Ukrainian refugees and Moldovan citizens protest against the war in Ukraine in front of the Russian embassy in Chisinau, Moldova, on February 24, 2023

Moldova has been hit repeatedly by debris from the Ukraine war and temporarily closed its own airspace during the Ukraine conflict.

The country also experienced power outages after Ukraine halted electricity exports due to Russian airstrikes on critical infrastructure.

But Wizz Air is the first airline to announce such a suspension of flights.

Two weeks ago, Moldova’s President Maia Sandu accused Russia of plotting a violent overthrow of the country’s pro-European leadership with the help of saboteurs disguised as anti-government protesters.

Moscow rejected the claim.

On Monday, Moldova’s infrastructure ministry said it regretted Wizz Air’s decision and issued a statement ensuring that flights “that comply with a number of procedures can be operated safely”.

Romania’s national airline Tarom, Air Moldova and Turkish Airlines still fly to the Moldovan capital.

Wizz Air’s decision comes days after Russia told the West on Friday it would consider any action threatening Russian peacekeepers in Transnistria a direct attack on Russia.

And on Thursday, Russia accused Kiev of plans to invade the region bordering Ukraine. The mainly Russian-speaking territory broke away from Moldova’s control in 1990, a year before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Pictured is Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu. Moldova’s foreign ministry announced on Monday that it had suspended two foreigners of unknown origin because it believed they were gathering information for a plot to undermine the government.

In the photo is Russian President Vladimir Putin. Last week, the Kremlin sensationally made baseless claims that Kiev was planning to invade a pro-Russian breakaway region in neighboring Moldova.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gestures during a news conference in Kiev February 24, 2023, to mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

“We warn the United States, NATO member states and their Ukrainian proxies not to take another reckless step,” Russia’s foreign ministry said.

“Any action that threatens their security is considered an attack on the Russian Federation under international law.”

There are about 1,700 Russian troops in Transnistria, which has a population of about 440,000.

Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu said Russia’s “provocative” comments about a possible Ukrainian attack were untrue.

“The Moldovan authorities dismissed these statements as baseless in order to manipulate public opinion. The security situation in the region is stable,” he wrote on the messaging app Telegram on Friday.

Speaking in Kiev, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Moscow’s claim that Ukraine wants to take over the region.

Zelenskyy said at a press conference that Russia is constantly involved in provocations.

“You clearly understand that we respect the territorial integrity of Moldova and we believe that the territory of Transnistria is the territory of the independent state of Moldova,” he said.

Zelenskyy said last week that it was “clear” that Ukraine was not the last country targeted by Moscow and that the Kremlin was considering ways to “strangle” Moldova.