Invasion jolts Russia’s friends in tiny West-leaning Moldova

By HELENA ALVES
Associated Press

COMRAT, Moldova (AP) — Across the border from war-engulfed Ukraine, tiny, impoverished Moldova — an ex-Soviet republic now looking eagerly Westward — has watched with trepidation as the Russian invasion unfolds. In Gagauzia, a small, autonomous part of the country that’s traditionally felt closer to the Kremlin than the West, people would normally back Russia, which they never wanted to leave when Moldova gained independence. But this time, most have trouble identifying with either side in the war. Anna Koejoglo feels deeply torn. “My heart is (broken), my insides are burning,” she told The Associated Press. Even among Moldova’s ethnic Russians the invasion has stirred conflicting sentiments.