Other Eastern European nations could be next if Russia’s conquest of Ukraine succeeds, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
“The invasion of Ukraine is only the beginning. Then they want to invade other countries,” Zelenskyy said in a speech on Friday evening. “All nations who, like us, believe in the victory of life over death must fight with us. You must help us because we are the first in line. And who’s next?
Zelenskyi’s comments came just hours after a senior Russian military leader spoke about his country’s military action in Ukraine.
“Control of southern Ukraine is another avenue to Transnistria, where there are instances of oppression of Russian speakers,” Major General Rustam Minnekayev told state Russian news agencies on Friday, seen as a veiled threat against Moldova.
Transnistria, a nominal breakaway state from Moldova, is not recognized by any nation and signed a peace treaty with Moldova in 1992. The region shares similarities with breakaway areas of eastern Ukraine with a large Russian-speaking population, which Russia has used as a pretext for its war of aggression against the country.
Zelensky predicted that the “invasion of Ukraine is only the beginning”. Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images
US State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter said the United States stands firmly behind Moldova’s independence, although she declined to comment directly on Minnekayev’s statement.
With post wires