Bulgaria urged citizens to leave Moldova as tensions rose
A look back at 28 April 2022, when a travel warning from Sofia followed attacks in Transnistria and a gas cutoff.
Why did Bulgaria tell its citizens on 28 April 2022 to leave Moldova immediately? The call came after a run of events in the region that had unsettled governments well beyond Chisinau.
On that date Bulgaria urged its nationals to depart Moldova by any available means of transport, citing a complicating situation in the country. It also warned against any travel there.
The security backdrop
Two days earlier, on 26 April 2022, Moldova's Supreme Security Council held an emergency meeting after attacks in the breakaway region of Transnistria the previous day. President Maia Sandu said the attacks were aimed at destabilising the situation in the region. She added that the military would improve combat readiness and increase patrols on the border with Transnistria.
A parallel pressure on Sofia
Bulgaria was dealing with another problem at the same time. On 26 April 2022, Gazprom announced it would stop delivering natural gas to Poland through the Yamal–Europe pipeline and to Bulgaria, after both countries rejected Russia's demand to pay for gas in roubles. Poland did not expect disruptions. For Bulgaria, almost completely dependent on Russian gas, the suspension posed a serious challenge to security of supply.
The travel advice and the gas cutoff were separate developments, and none of the reports linked them. Taken together, they show how, by 28 April 2022, the effects of the war in Ukraine were reaching Moldova and Bulgaria through both security and energy channels.
