Transnistria

Oleg Khorzhan was found "with signs of violent death," Transnistria government officials said.

"What happened today in the center of the capital is not a protest," Moldova's presidential office said on Sunday.

"The situation is turbulent and is being provoked externally," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Moldova needs to be "less afraid of Russia because Russia could barely handle Ukraine," NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană said.

Moldova's envoy told Newsweek "the spectrum of threats has indeed widened and intensified" as Transnistrians described an "intensification of hybrid warfare."

Reports claim that pro-Russian forces have rigged an ammunition store in breakaway Transnistria with explosives, which could blow up akin to a nuclear blast.

Moldova was granted EU candidate status alongside Ukraine in June 2022.

Chisinau has accused Moscow of plotting a coup to overthrow Moldova's government.

The Russian president has canceled a decree that aimed to respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and neutrality of Moldova.

Moldova's temporary airspace closure comes after Moldovan President Maia Sandu alleged that Russia was seeking to overthrow her government.

The report of the downed missile comes after Russia launched a barrage of strikes across Ukraine on Monday morning.

This "mass desertion" is occurring among a group of Russian troops in a Russian-backed region of Moldova, according to Ukrainian military intelligence.

Recent attacks in Transnistria have sparked concerns among Western officials that the breakaway region or Moldova could be pulled into the war against Ukraine.

Moldova said the attacks in Transnistria are an attempt to destabilize the region from pro-war forces within the territory.

The spate of explosions comes days after Russian Major General Rustam Minnekayev spoke of creating an "exit" to the breakaway Moldovan territory.

The Russian foreign ministry has responded to concerns the Kremlin had its sights on the breakaway republic.

Last week, a Russian commander said that the breakaway republic could be a focus for Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Russian commander Rustam Minnekaev referred to the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria, sparking a fierce debate.

The Ukrainian president used Easter imagery in his video address as he told Ukrainians "we believe in the victory of life over death."

"We are now at war with the whole world," said Russian Major General Rustam Minnekayev.

This is the fight within Europe that everyone appears to have forgotten about.

"I don't want my people to be used as cannon fodder for some geopolitical games and some battles," Moldovan President Igor Dodon said.

The U.S secretary of state said, "There is broad consensus among all the NATO members that there is no normalization of dialogue with Russia today."

The president told two geography-studying schoolboys that 'Russia's borders end nowhwere.'

The region has been a breakaway strip of land since 1990.

Moldova's eastern region of Transnistria is held by pro-Russia separatists.