Moldova's President Sandu deplores "horrific" current reality in Ukraine, full-blown human drama

Republic of Moldova President Maia Sandu said on Wednesday that her country relies on the support of its partners to overcome the challenges caused by the war in Ukraine."Regrettably, on February 24 the Russian Federation unleashed an unprovoked war against Ukraine. We suddenly all found ourselves in a gloomy, uncertain world. What is happening now in Ukraine is horrific. The military actions have destabilized the entire region, and the challenges posed by this war are putting pressure on the Republic of Moldova too. We need the support of our friends and partners to overcome them. The Republic of Moldova has firmly condemned the military aggression against Ukraine and has called for peace from the very start of military action. Also, our country was quick to offer humanitarian aid to our friendly neighbor country, receiving the people who flee the war," Maia Sandu said after her meeting with visiting President of Romania Klaus Iohannis.She went on to note that 340,000 people have crossed the border from Ukraine to the Republic of Moldova since the beginning of the war, and 100,000 of these refugees remained in Moldova."We are witnessing a full-blown human drama. We must help these people and we will continue to do so. Thousands of families from all regions of the country are hosting guests from Ukraine. (...) It's a significant effort for a small country with modest revenues like ours," Maia Sandu pointed out.The President of the Republic of Moldova said that, faced with a large inflow of refugees, Moldova has called on EU member states to consider the possibility of resettling Ukrainian refugees on their territory and praised the Romanian authorities' prompt decision to open a green corridor for the safe passage to the EU of the refugees from the Moldova - Ukraine border."At the same time, I thank the authorities in Bucharest for the assistance provided with the management of the refugee flow. The first batch of humanitarian aid, 17 tons of food, hygiene products, beds, toys, arrived on March 4 and was distributed to town halls and the children's homes providing shelter to Ukraine refugees. A second, 55-ton batch arrived today in Chisinau and I would also like to thank the government in Bucharest for approving fuel assistance for the Republic of Moldova consisting of over 155 tons of diesel and 150 tons of gasoline to cover the transportation needs of the institutions involved in the management of the refugee flow; to this add 5,000 tons of black oil to support Moldova's energy security, badly affected by the war in Ukraine. Romania once again stands by our side in difficult times," said Maia Sandu.The Moldovan President expressed her desire for the rapid progress of the construction of the Ungheni bridge."Romania stood by us during the critical moments last autumn, during the gas crisis, offering us black oil and speeding up the commissioning of the Iasi - Chisinau gas pipeline. I hope that the energy security cooperation memorandum signed in February by the governments of the two states will speed up Moldova and Romania's energy interconnection and the connection of our country to Romania's major energy projects. The decision to connect the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine to the Continental European Grid was announced today, and consequently, our energy projects gain even more importance. Mr President, the new reality in the region requires us to act firmly and resolutely," Sandu remarked.The President of the Republic of Moldova thanked Romania for its support with the pandemic and energy hardships."We live in difficult times when solidarity, care, mutual aid must prevail. Only thus can we overcome the tragedy and destruction of war, only in this way can we claim humanity. I urge the international community, all democratic countries to focus our efforts on bringing to end the military attack, stop the fighting and restoring peace in Ukraine. It's what we all want, this is what Ukraine's citizens in particular deserve," said the Moldovan President.