Dorin Recean

On December 15th, Moldova will introduce a state of emergency nationwide for a duration of 60 days due to concerns over a potential halt in Russian gas supplies starting January 1st.

In a dramatic turn of events, Moldova has found itself in the throes of political upheaval just hours before local elections, as authorities banned the pro-Russian "Chance" party over concerns related to national security. The decision casts a shadow of uncertainty over Sunday's elections and threatens to disrupt the political landscape of the country.

Officers of Moldova's National Anticorruption Centre, CNA, on Tuesday evening raided the offices of the Central Electoral Commission in Gagauzia, collecting lists of voters for the election of a new governor held in the autonomous southern region.

The CNA said it found names in the lists of some citizens settled outside the country and of some dead people.

Just half an hour's drive from Ukraine's southern border, hundreds of Russian soldiers are guarding a large ammunition depot in the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria.
This warehouse, these soldiers and this pro-Russian separatist region have been under increasing global surveillance in recent days, Slobodna Dalmacija reports, citing BBC.

*President Traian Basescu sent a message to his Moldovan counterpart Nicolae Timofti on the Republic of Moldova Independence Day on Wednesday, stating that Moldovans' European aspirations, prosperity and true friendship will be his soul project.