Russia expels a Moldovan embassy employee in reciprocal move over drone crash

Moscow's reciprocal move

Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Moldova's ambassador, Lilian Darii, on Tuesday, 10 November, and told him that a member of the Moldovan embassy's staff in Moscow had been declared persona non grata. The ministry said the decision rested on the principle of reciprocity. Darii received a formal protest, and Moscow described Chisinau's earlier step as an unfriendly gesture. The ministry's statement was published late on Tuesday evening. The reports do not name the Moldovan employee who was expelled.

The drone that started the row

On 23 October, Moldova declared a Russian embassy employee in Chisinau persona non grata, the same day a drone fell and exploded in the village of Chistelnita in Telenesti district. The drone came down less than 100 metres from a house. In late October, President Maia Sandu said a Russian attack drone had violated Moldovan airspace and crashed near homes and an energy facility. Moscow rejects that account, arguing that Moldova has presented no evidence the drone was of Russian origin and that Chisinau's move rested on an alleged discovery of drone debris carrying explosives.

Russia's reaction and the diplomatic background

Moscow framed the Moldovan decision as a formal pretext for hostility and called it another unfriendly step. The ministry said the real aim was to further undermine Russian-Moldovan relations, which it described as centuries old. Lilian Darii is a former deputy foreign minister in the government of Pavel Filip and has also served as ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg and handled relations with NATO. Reports had claimed he is a cousin of Sandu, but the presidency's press office told IPN that there is no kinship between them and called the claim untrue.

Wider strain with Moldova and its neighbours

Relations between Russia and former Soviet states such as Moldova have fallen to their lowest point since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Drones have entered Moldovan territory on several occasions since then, and Moldova's push to join the European Union adds to the tension. Transnistria, a part of Moldova controlled by pro-Russian separatists, broke away at the end of a war in 1992 following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Neighbouring Black Sea states say they face renewed attacks allegedly carried out by Moscow, including a drone strike in October that sank a cargo ship off Romania's Black Sea coast.

Energy link with Romania

On Sunday, 8 November, Moldova officially launched a new 400-kilovolt line running from Vulcanesti to Chisinau, connecting the country to Romania and the European grid. The line is meant to reduce Moldova's dependence on Russian energy. It allows Moldova to cut its reliance on the Cuciurgan thermal power plant in Transnistria. The launch came two days before Moscow and Chisinau announced their latest expulsions.