[citation needed] Russo-Moldovan relations became a main focus of foreign policy for Republic of Moldova after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

[1] During the 1990-92 Transnistria War, Russia gave formal and informal support to Moldovan secessionist, direct intervention of Russian 14th Guards Army stationed in Moldova on behalf of the secessionist side resulted in end to fighting and the emergence of the internationally unrecognized entity of Transnistria.

Gradually Moldova began to look westward, culminating in 2020 with a new government determined to join the European Union and possibly NATO.

[1] During the war of Transnistria, Russia gave formal and informal support to Moldovan secessionist, direct intervention of Russian 14th Guards Army stationed in Moldova on behalf of the secessionist side resulted in an end to the fighting and the emergence of the internationally unrecognized entity of Transnistria.

Russian-brokered ceasefire, cemented the status quo, and left two separate groups of Russian military forces remained in Moldova: a small peacekeeping regiment, which is part of the Joint Control Commission, and the 14th Army, which was tasked with guarding a large Soviet ammunition depot in Cobasna on Transnistria-controlled territory.

[2] Evacuation of this depot was eventually stalled and Russian military presence in Moldova continues to this day, against the will of the Moldovan Government.

In 1999, an agreement on economic co-operation was signed and Russia committed itself to withdraw its troops and weapons from Moldova by the end of 2002, which did not happen.

Relations between Moldova and Russia deteriorated in November 2003 over a Russian proposal for the solution of the Transnistria conflict, which Moldovan authorities refused to accept.

[4] On July 21, 2017, Moldovan parliament passed a declaration asking calling for the removal of Russian troops, weapons, and military equipment from the Transnistria region.

[citation needed] In December 2016, Igor Dodon, the leader of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova, was elected to the presidency with a pro-Russian platform, and a promise to identify with the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc.

Pro-Russian parties in Moldova protested the ban on the nationalist symbols, accusing the Moldovan government of erasing their history.

Furthermore, it was reported that ethnic Russians in Moldova vandalised the World War II Heroes' Cemetery of Chișinău [ro] following this decision.

However, it is speculated that the real reason for the ban is because Moldova asked for an extension on payment for its August supply of natural gas from Russia.

[29] On 5 December, as a result of another Russian wave of attacks against Ukraine, a missile fell near the city of Briceni within Moldova's territory.

On the same day, Igor Grosu, the President of the Moldovan Parliament, announced that it was intended to reduce the number of diplomats in Russia's Embassy in Chișinău, adding that the Russian Federation behaves like an empire trying to expand its borders, that it does not respect international laws and that it has never respected its neighbors or the post-Soviet states.

[39] The mayor of Giurgiulești, Tatiana Gălățeanu, commented that there was concern among the inhabitants of the town, that Moldova would be affected if Ukraine failed to contain the war on its territory and that "we cannot really do anything" about the situation.

[40] On 26 July 2023, Popescu announced that the number of staff in the Russian Embassy in Chișinău would be significantly decreased amid espionage concerns.

Both Vasnetsov and the spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Maria Zakharova protested against this decision, with the latter saying that it "will not remain unanswered".

In February 2024 Transnistrian officials asked Russia for "protection" while accusing Moldova of blocking imports in an "economic war" and turning the region into a "ghetto".