A combat drone exploded near a village on Moldova's border with Ukraine on 9 August, sparking a grass fire but hurting no one, Moldovan police said. Investigators recovered fragments and will examine them to establish the drone's type and origin. It was one of two blasts the war pushed across Europe's borders in two days, with Bulgaria fielding a separate drone explosion and summoning Ukraine's ambassador.

A drone down in a Moldovan field

The blast rang out around 13:20 near Crocmaz, in Moldova's Ștefan Vodă district in the southeast, and set dry grass alight, NewsMaker reported. The village lies on the Dniester, upstream of Ukraine's Dniester estuary.

Firefighters and patrols confirmed no civilians were hurt and no homes were damaged. Police found fragments that they preliminarily identified as parts of a combat drone. Those pieces will undergo a ballistic-technical examination to determine the drone's exact type, its affiliation, and how it fell. Crocmaz sits right on the Ukrainian border. The district council posted photos of the object and told residents to avoid the cordoned area and report any fragments to the 112 line.

The blast came amid an assault on Odesa

The drone fell hours after Russia hit Odesa with missiles and drones overnight on 9 August. Much of Moldova's eastern border runs along Odesa Oblast, so wreckage from the war often drifts across. Russian drones have crashed on Moldovan soil during such attacks before. Whether this one was Russian or something else is for the examination to show.

A parallel case in Bulgaria

Also today, Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry summoned Ukraine's ambassador, Olesia Ilashchuk, over a drone that exploded on 8 August near the Romanian border, by a Trans-Balkan gas pipeline compressor station, Bulgarian National Television reported. Its defense bloc said the drone was likely a Ukrainian decoy, with no sign it was launched on purpose. 

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Moldova's Victory bloc, a pro-Russian political alliance, plans to participating in the country's September parliamentary elections, the bloc's founder Ilan Shor announced on July 6.

Shor, an exiled pro-Kremlin oligarch, established the Victory bloc in August 2024. The bloc includes his own Shor party, which is banned in Moldova.

Victory will submit documents in the coming days registering the bloc for participation in the September vote, Shor said.

"Our main goal in these elections is to overthrow the fascist regime and hold early democratic elections within the next six months," Shor said.

The candidate list will be headed by Evghenia Gutul, the head of Moldova's Gagauzia region, who is currently on trial for illegally funding the banned Shor party. Gutul maintains ties to Moscow and is currently under U.S. sanctions.

The upcoming September elections carry high stakes for Moldova, one of the pooerest countries in Europe. Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on July 4 that Chisinau's European path rests on the outcome of the vote.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged on July 4 that the European Union will help Moldova defend itself against hybrid threats by "agents of autocracy" as elections approach.

Moldova was granted EU candidate status in 2022. Sandu's ruling Party of Action and Solidarity aims to maintain its parliamentary majority and move the country closer to full membership by 2030.

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The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged on July 4 that the European Union will help Moldova defend itself against hybrid threats by "agents of autocracy."

"We are committed to protecting you against the hybrid attacks and the energy shocks that your country has been a victim of," von der Leyen said following the EU-Moldova summit in Chisinau.

"Who is behind those attacks is clear to all of us here. These are the same agents of autocracy trying to undermine our democracies everywhere in Europe."

Von der Leyen praised Moldova's support for Ukraine and the EU, noting its acceptance of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees and its assistance with European wildfire response efforts.

The visit was made in show of solidarity with Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries, as it prepares for high-stakes parliamentary elections on Sept. 28.

The pro-European government of President Maia Sandu faces a challenge from the pro-Russian Socialist Party, amid growing fears of destabilization ahead of the vote.

Sandu has accused Russia of using its military presence in Moldova's Russian-occupied Transnistria region to stir unrest and derail the country's EU aspirations. On June 12, she warned that Moscow could provoke a crisis in Transnistria to influence the election outcome.

Transnistria has been under Russian-backed separatist control since the early 1990s, with approximately 1,000 to 1,500 Russian troops still stationed in the region.

On June 11, Transnistrian authorities declared a 30-day state of emergency after a sharp drop in natural gas supplies. The unrecognized region has faced mounting energy shortages since January, when Russian energy giant Gazprom halted deliveries in what many see as an attempt to destabilize the situation in Moldova.

Moldova was granted EU candidate status in 2022. Sandu's ruling Party of Action and Solidarity aims to maintain its parliamentary majority and move the country closer to full membership by 2030.

Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean earlier told the Financial Times that Russia plans to send 10,000 troops to Transnistria and establish a pro-Kremlin government in Moldova.

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The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy

Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on July 4 that her country's European Union aspirations depend on Moldovan citizens as a crucial September 28 election approaches.

Sandu hopes her pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) will retain its parliamentary majority, paving the way for Moldova, one of Europe's poorest nations, to join the EU by 2030.

Sandu made her remarks at the conclusion of the 27-nation bloc's inaugural summit with Moldova. Her PAS party faces a challenge from the pro-Russian Socialist Party and its allies in the upcoming election. Sandu secured re-election last year by a narrow margin against a Socialist challenger in the ex-Soviet state, located between Ukraine and Romania. A referendum seeking public backing for EU membership also just barely surpassed a 50% majority.

"Prosperity and peace do not occur for nothing, you have to build them. With collective effort and unity. When citizens are united and choose the correct path and proceed along it," Sandu told a news conference after the summit. "The European Union is already happening here. The only risk is if we stop. If we decide this autumn that nothing will stop us, then everything is possible."

Sandu and her party have condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and accuse Moscow of destabilizing Moldova. Russia, in turn, claims many Moldovans desire to maintain ties with Moscow and accuses Sandu of fostering Russophobia.

Opinion polls suggest that no single party will likely secure a parliamentary majority. If no majority emerges, pro-European parties would need to engage in coalition talks.

At the summit, which included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head Antonio Costa, the EU announced the disbursement of the first €270 million ($318 million) tranche of an Economic Growth Plan for Moldova.

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The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir

Moscow may instigate a crisis in Moldova's Russian-occupied Transnistria region to destabilize the country ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for September, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on June 12, according to Moldovan outlet Newsmaker.

"All these years, Russia has been using the residents of Transnistria and can provoke an even greater crisis at any moment if it suits its plans in Moldova," Sandu said.

"We can expect this crisis to deepen in the coming months, before the elections."

The president's comments come after Transnistria declared a 30-day state of emergency on June 11, due to a sharp reduction in natural gas supplies.

The unrecognized region, located along Moldova's eastern border with Ukraine, has faced mounting energy shortages since January, when Russian gas giant Gazprom halted deliveries.

Sandu, a pro-European leader of the country, warned that Moscow could combine voter bribery and political manipulation with "blackmail" in Transnistria.

"Russia may promise assistance in exchange for votes on the Right Bank. We can expect all sorts of games," the president said.

In February, Moldova's government revealed that Transnistria rejected a 60 million euros ($62 million) EU energy aid package under pressure from Moscow.

The Moldovan president assured that the country's institutions are monitoring the risks and pledged that the elections would be "free and fair," despite growing instability.

Sandu emphasized that Chisinau is prepared to support the population in Transnistria but must first address "the main problem — the withdrawal of Russian troops."

"This is a key issue that we must resolve peacefully, because otherwise we will not be able to justify our financial support," she said.

Moscow continues to maintain a military presence in Transnistria, which has been under the control of pro-Russian separatists since the early 1990s. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in February that around 1,000 to 1,500 Russian troops are currently stationed in the region.  

Chisinau has repeatedly called for the peaceful reintegration of Transnistria and the withdrawal of Russian forces, citing it as essential to Moldova's security and development.

Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean earlier told the Financial Times that Russia plans to send 10,000 troops to Transnistria and establish a pro-Kremlin government in Moldova.

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The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir