Latest news with #AlexanderTanas
The Star
2 days ago
- The Star
Vandals daub swastikas on Jewish gravestones in Moldova
CHISINAU (Reuters) -Vandals daubed swastikas and other Nazi symbols and damaged more than 50 gravestones in the Jewish cemetery in Moldova's capital, officials said on Thursday. Forensic experts and prosecutors on Thursday sealed off the cemetery in Chisinau, once a thriving centre of Jewish culture in the Russian empire. A criminal case was opened on grounds of desecration and inciting racial hatred but no further details were provided on the incident. The cemetery was also vandalised in 2020, when 42 headstones were damaged and 30 daubed with paint. Home to 200,000 Jews a century ago, Moldova now has about 5,000. A notorious anti-Jewish pogrom in Chisinau in 1903 killed 49 people, injured 600 and destroyed hundreds of Jewish homes and shops in the city. (Reporting by Alexander Tanas, Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Moldova urges clergy to "tell the truth" about Ukraine war
By Alexander Tanas CHISINAU (Reuters) - Moldova's government, a fierce critic of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, appealed to the country's clergy on Sunday to "tell the truth" about the war, saying that Moscow's military actions had destroyed some 500 places of worship. Government spokesperson Daniel Voda's appeal, on the eve of the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, appeared linked to a split in Moldova's Orthodox Church into competing branches subordinate to Russia and Romania. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. More than 90 percent of churchgoers in Moldova, which lies between Ukraine and Romania, adhere to the Orthodox Church. The invasion, backed enthusiastically by Russia's Orthodox Church, has accelerated a move by parishes from Moldova's majority Moscow-linked Moldova Metropolis to the smaller Romania-linked church, the Metropolis of Bessarabia. Since the invasion, still dubbed a "Special Military Operation" in Russia, more than 60 parishes have transferred their allegiance in the country of 2.5 million. "From the beginning of the invasion, more than 500 churches, synagogues and mosques have been destroyed or damaged. That's one every two days," Voda said in his appeal. "Do not remain silent. Tell the world the truth. The aggression is not just a fight for territory, it is the destruction of shrines." Metropolitan Vladimir of the Moscow-linked Moldova Metropolis has made a point of saying his church denounced the invasion "from the very first day" and organised assistance for more than 90,000 Ukrainian refugees, the highest number per capita in Europe. "At every service I say a special prayer in which I ask for mercy for the church and pray for an end to the war in Ukraine," Vladimir said in a 2023 interview. "I am not afraid to call it the 'war in Ukraine' in the prayer. I do not pray for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin." Media reports have spoken of priests from the Russia-linked church backing the Russian invasion in some parishes. Reuters could not independently verify these reports. And the church acknowledges that groups of priests last year made "pilgrimages" to holy sites in Russia, with Russian financing. The split in church ranks reflects Moldova's turbulent history, with most of its current territory having belonged at various times in the past to the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union and "Greater Romania." The Romania-linked Metropolis of Bessarabia is increasingly linked to Moldova's drive to join the European Union by 2030.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Moldova urges clergy to "tell the truth" about Ukraine war
By Alexander Tanas CHISINAU (Reuters) - Moldova's government, a fierce critic of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, appealed to the country's clergy on Sunday to "tell the truth" about the war, saying that Moscow's military actions had destroyed some 500 places of worship. Government spokesperson Daniel Voda's appeal, on the eve of the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, appeared linked to a split in Moldova's Orthodox Church into competing branches subordinate to Russia and Romania. More than 90 percent of churchgoers in Moldova, which lies between Ukraine and Romania, adhere to the Orthodox Church. The invasion, backed enthusiastically by Russia's Orthodox Church, has accelerated a move by parishes from Moldova's majority Moscow-linked Moldova Metropolis to the smaller Romania-linked church, the Metropolis of Bessarabia. Since the invasion, still dubbed a "Special Military Operation" in Russia, more than 60 parishes have transferred their allegiance in the country of 2.5 million. "From the beginning of the invasion, more than 500 churches, synagogues and mosques have been destroyed or damaged. That's one every two days," Voda said in his appeal. "Do not remain silent. Tell the world the truth. The aggression is not just a fight for territory, it is the destruction of shrines." Metropolitan Vladimir of the Moscow-linked Moldova Metropolis has made a point of saying his church denounced the invasion "from the very first day" and organised assistance for more than 90,000 Ukrainian refugees, the highest number per capita in Europe. "At every service I say a special prayer in which I ask for mercy for the church and pray for an end to the war in Ukraine," Vladimir said in a 2023 interview. "I am not afraid to call it the 'war in Ukraine' in the prayer. I do not pray for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin." Media reports have spoken of priests from the Russia-linked church backing the Russian invasion in some parishes. Reuters could not independently verify these reports. And the church acknowledges that groups of priests last year made "pilgrimages" to holy sites in Russia, with Russian financing. The split in church ranks reflects Moldova's turbulent history, with most of its current territory having belonged at various times in the past to the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union and "Greater Romania." The Romania-linked Metropolis of Bessarabia is increasingly linked to Moldova's drive to join the European Union by 2030.
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Moldova says two more drones violated its airspace
By Alexander Tanas CHISINAU (Reuters) - Two drones violated Moldovan airspace late on Sunday near the border with Ukraine, the government said, three days after the Russian ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry in connection with an earlier incident. Moldova, which lies between Ukraine and European Union member Romania, has seen repeated intrusions by Russian drones deployed in the nearly three-year-old war pitting Moscow against Kyiv. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. The incidents have prompted an angry response from Moldovan authorities, who want the ex-Soviet state to join the EU by 2030. Government spokesperson Daniel Voda did not identify the origin of the two latest drones, but said the intrusion occurred just before 11 p.m. local time as Ukraine reported that its southern Odesa region over the border was under Russian attack. Both drones had left Moldovan airspace not far from the town of Taraclia, Voda said. In incidents last week, two drones had fallen in the same area near the Ukrainian border and one exploded. Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who accuses Russia of trying to destabilise her government, said Moscow was endangering Moldovan lives. Russian Ambassador Oleg Ozerov, summoned to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry last week, was shown fragments of the drones, including one piece bearing the name Geran-2, the Russian designation of the Iranian-designed Shahed drone. Following that incident, the Moldovan Foreign Ministry said it was denouncing a cultural agreement with Russia and closing down the Russian cultural centre in Chisinau. The centre was still operating at the end of last week.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Moldova to ship first 3 mcm of gas to breakaway region on Saturday, company says
By Alexander Tanas CHISINAU (Reuters) - Moldova on Saturday will send 3 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to its separatist enclave Transdniestria, the first fuel supply to the area since end-December, when gas transit through Ukraine was halted, a Moldovan industry official said on Friday. The delivery will start in the morning and it is intended to fill the Transdniestrian gas system, which is already experiencing a shortage of gas to maintain pressure. "According to the contract between Moldovagaz and Tiraspoltransgaz, this volume of gas is provided as a debt to be repaid by March 1, 2025," Moldovagaz CEO Vadim Ceban told Reuters. Tens of thousands of people in the region have been without gas or winter heating since Jan. 1, when Russia's Gazprom suspended gas exports to the region, citing an unpaid Moldovan debt of $709 million that Chisinau does not recognise as valid. Moscow blames the suspension of gas supplies on pro-Western Moldova and Ukraine, which refused to extend a five-year gas transit deal that expired on Dec. 31, on the grounds that the proceeds help fund Russia's invasion. Moldova's authorities have said that despite a valid contract and the option of an alternative transit route, Gazprom is refusing to supply gas in order to destabilise its government ahead of this year's parliamentary elections. MORE SUPPLY This 3 million cubic metres will precede a larger gas supply, paid for by the European Union, which issued 30 million euros ($31.14 million) to provide Transdniestria and Moldova with both heat and electricity. Alexandru Slusar, a member of the Administrative Board of the Moldovan state-owned Energocom company, told Reuters that 20 million euros would be used to buy gas for Transdniestria and 10 million euros will be spent by Chisinau to buy electricity on the exchange in Romania. A Moldovan industry source said that Tiraspol would buy gas from the Moldova's Energocom at an average rate of 3 mcm per day in February 1-10 and Moldovagaz would deliver this gas to the Transdniestrian company Tiraspoltransgaz. It is not clear how the separatist region, which has been receiving free gas from Russia for decades, will ensure gas supply after Feb. 10. ($1 = 0.9633 euros) (Writing by Pavel Polityuk; editing by David Evans) Sign in to access your portfolio
