President Maia Sandu said there is a risk that the citizens of the Republic of Moldova from the eastern districts of the country will be mobilized. To discourage such actions, it is considered the opportunity of withdrawing the Moldovan nationality from persons who also hold Russian nationality and who will fight on the behalf of the Russian Federation. The authorities are also considering the possibility of making harsher the penalties against Moldovan citizens who promote the war, IPN reports.

“I requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration to initiate bilateral consultations with the Russian Federation so as to exclude cases of recruitment of citizens of the Republic of Moldova who reside in the Russian Federation within the ongoing mobilization. The Ministry and other institutions will take measures to support the citizens of the Republic of Moldova who want to return home,” President Sandu told a news conference, referring to the discussions held in the September 24 meeting of the Supreme Security Council.

Maia Sandu said the meeting centered on the changes that can happen in Moldova and in the region as a result of the mobilization in Russia, following the secessionist referendums in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine and the eventual use of nonconventional weapons. “We discussed the potential consequences of the escalation of the military conflict in Ukraine, including the risks of nuclear incidents. The rapporteurs referred to a number of categories or risks, such as the rise in the number of refugees, possible disruptions in natural gas and power supplies, exploitation of the crisis by criminal groups and foreign agents with the aim of destabilizing the situation,” stated the official.

President Sandu noted that the Supreme Security Council adopted a series of recommendations, including to increase vigilance and update the action plan according to the new risks, to more attentively monitor the situation in the Transnistrian region and to discourage the population of the region from becoming involved in the mobilization activities conducted in Russia.