Moldova needs €250 million to modernize armed forces - defence official

Valeriu Mija, Secretary for State for Defence Policy, National Army Reform, in the defense ministry, said that the February 2022 shock was the starting point for public opinion changes towards the development and improvement of the defence sector. He spoke at a forum about national security in Chisinau.

He stated that the romanticism associated with eternal peace is over and that a new approach was needed.

"We believe that €250m is needed to modernize the armed forces."

Ex-Soviet Moldova, one of Europe's most impoverished countries, is seeking EU membership but is prevented from NATO membership due to the principle of neutrality in its constitution.

The war in Ukraine has been denounced by the Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who has sent missiles to the conflict at the border with her country.

Since Sandu assumed office in 2020, the country has been receiving generous Western funding. This was to combat corruption and to move closer to Europe. Mija stated that the country should be receiving 87 million euros this year from the European peace fund as well as a budget increase of 80 million euros.

Mija stated that there are many other figures that can't be made public, even due to commercial secrets. "For instance, the purchase or air defense systems was not considered a priority until very recently. However, last year's events forced us to reexamine our position, which will require funding."

Moldova, a country of 2.5 million people, is still plagued by Transdniestria, a pro-Russian separatist Statelet. It was established 30 years after a brief conflict that pitted it against the newly independent Moldovan army.

Transdniestria still has around 1,500 Russian "peacekeepers", and its leaders accuse Ukraine that they are trying to overthrow them. Moldova accuses Russia, in turn, of trying to destabilize it.

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