Context: Moldova has enshrined its neutral status in its constitution, and it is not a member of NATO. At the same time, the country is cooperating with the Alliance as a partner, and NATO has officially stated that it respects the country’s constitutional neutrality. The unresolved Transnistrian conflict affects Moldova’s security, and the OSCE mission is working to reconcile it. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Moldova also accelerated its move toward the EU. Moldova was granted candidate status in June 2022 and began accession negotiations in June 2024.
On July 9, 2026, during an episode of the Letuchka program on SBTV, Nikita Kondratov, a Transnistrian blogger, claimed that NATO and the U.S. are flooding Moldova with weapons and that the country allegedly spends more on its military than on healthcare. Kondratov is a former correspondent for the First Transnistrian television channel, which covers the Transnistrian conflict and regional security issues, over from a pro-Russian perspective. He was barred from entering Armenia in July 2026. As of this writing, he continues to work in Belarus and appears on state-run media. On the Letuchka program, he also stated that “there will be a third world war — a nuclear one,” and that “storm clouds are also gathering overTransnistria and Moldavia*.”
“Moldavia is being turned — in fact, it has already been turned — into the very torpedo that will be launched against Russia. We can see what has been happening over the past several years: militarization, NATO, and the United States constantly supplying weapons. Right now, as far as I can tell, military spending in Moldova ranks first, far ahead of healthcare and medicine,” Kondratov continued.
Moldova is indeed increasing its defense spending, aiming to nearly double it by 2030. Even after this increase, military spending will account for only 1% of the country’s gross domestic product. Currently, Moldova’s military spending amounts to approximately 0.5% of its GDP.
For comparison, Belarus spends 1.5% of its GDP on its military, whereas NATO countries aim for 5%.
Even by 2030, Moldova is unlikely to become a “torpedo” against Russia. According to calculations by Janis Kluge, a Senior Associate at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, based on data from the Russian Ministry of Finance, Russia spends 65 billion rubles per day on military needs. That is eight times as much as Moldova spends in an entire year.
It is also untrue that Moldova’s military spending ranks first and far exceeds healthcare spending. In fact, Moldova’s military spending is about five times less than its health care spending and about ten times less than its education and social protection spending.
Additionally, Moldova ranks 133rd out of 148 countries by military budget size, placing it near the bottom of the ranking rather than among countries with high defense spending.
* The name “Moldavia” became established in the Russian language during the Soviet period. The official name of the country is the Republic of Moldova, so the term “Moldavia” does not correspond to its current self-designation. Using the name “Moldavia” is similar to using the name “Belorussia” instead of “Belarus.” Although “Belorussia” is a valid Russian term, it does not correspond to the country’s official name and may be considered outdated. The term “Moldavia” is only used in direct quotes in this article. The editorial team uses the term “Moldova” throughout the rest of the text.
