Moldova

Border guards detained a minibus driver who tried to smuggle 8 men of military age from different regions of Ukraine to Moldova for €8,000 per person, for which he faces up to 9 years in prison.

Due to grid constraints, Kharkiv and Odesa regions are subject to emergency outage schedules, but electricity imports from 5 countries are planned, and no shortage is expected in the power system.

The World Bank has approved a $1. 5 billion loan to Ukraine to help restore the economy, finance priority social and humanitarian expenditures, and implement reforms aimed at European integration and economic growth.

Ukraine plans to import a record amount of electricity, while no exports are planned, as the power system is stable and no shortages are expected despite Russian attacks.

Ukrainian intelligence operations at sea, including the liberation of Zmeinyi Island and the destruction of Russian ships, significantly reduced the number of Russian attacks from the sea and pushed the enemy fleet back, ensuring security not only for Ukraine but also for neighboring countries such as Moldova.

Baltic leaders call on NATO members to reintroduce conscription and significantly increase military spending to Cold War levels to deter potential Russian aggression.

Additional security restrictions have been introduced near the border with Moldova in Vinnytsia region, including entry restrictions for men aged 18 to 60 and a ban on certain activities such as fishing and hunting within 500 meters of the border.

House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to bring up a bill to provide aid to Ukraine after the Easter recess, as stated by Republican Congressman Michael McCaul.

The head of the Odesa regional state administration said that the russian "contingent" in unrecognized Transnistria does not pose a threat to Ukraine, as Ukraine has built fortifications on the border and controls the entire border area.

The Moldovan parliament approved the Declaration on the country's European integration, calling EU accession a national priority and emphasizing the benefits it will bring in terms of sovereignty, democracy, economic development and social policy.

Border guards exposed a criminal group that smuggled illegal immigrants to Moldova for $6000 per person with a $1000 advance payment via Telegram chatbot.

The United States imposed sanctions on two Russian individuals and entities for conducting a malicious disinformation campaign targeting Latin America, posing as legitimate media outlets and using fake social media accounts to spread anti-Ukrainian propaganda.

During a meeting with the President of the European Council, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal emphasized the importance of adopting the draft negotiation framework for Ukraine's accession to the EU as soon as possible.

EU Diplomacy Chief Josep Borrell says that tomorrow the Council of Europe will discuss how to speed up Ukraine's accession to the EU.

Tbilisi has condemned russia for illegally holding presidential elections in the occupied Georgian regions and opening polling stations there, which violates Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

There were no legitimate elections in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, the occupiers went door-to-door and forced people to vote for the appropriate candidate, the head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration said.

33 countries have joined the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, led by Ukraine and Canada, which aims to multiply efforts to return Ukrainian children deported to Russia.

russia has launched a kamikaze drone attack on a military unit in unrecognized Transnistria to destabilize the region.

Five Ukrainian refugees, including children, were diagnosed with measles in a refugee center in Chisinau, Moldova, leading to the closure of the facility for 21 days.

France condemns russia's illegal organization of the presidential elections in the occupied Ukrainian territories and separatist regions, which violates Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Lithuania does not consider the March 15-17 presidential elections in russia to be a legitimate democratic expression of will due to repression, fraud, coercion, suppression of the opposition and independent media, and the absence of OSCE observers, which makes Vladimir Putin's new "government" lack any democratic legitimacy.

Ukraine expects to start accession negotiations with the EU in the first half of 2024 after the European Council approves the negotiation framework.

The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the so-called "presidential elections" in Russia. The ministry said that they cannot be considered legal, free and fair.

Moldova, together with NATO, conducted the Coherent Resilience 2024 exercise aimed at increasing the resilience of its critical energy infrastructure to cyber and hybrid threats.

Josep Borrell called for continued support for Ukraine, warning of serious risks to the security of Europe and the United States.

More than two dozen heads of parliamentary foreign affairs committees, including the United States and Israel, signed a statement denying the legitimacy of the elections held by Russia in the occupied Ukrainian territories.

The Moldovan government says that Russia is violating the law by printing ballots in the Transnistrian region ahead of its presidential "elections.

The First Vice Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine met with the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova to discuss European integration, bilateral relations, and Ukraine's expectations regarding the participation of the President of Moldova in the Global Peace Summit.

Ukraine has a clear procedure on its way to EU membership and is systematically following it, and President Zelenskyy hopes to start negotiations in the first half of this year after the European Commission approves the framework for negotiations.

The European Parliament has approved the extension of the suspension of import duties and quotas on exports of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU for another year until June 5, 2025, and extended the suspension of all duties on imports from Moldova until July 24, 2025.