MOLDOVA SECURITY MILITARY -- {WEB}
Metadata
- MOLDOVA SECURITY MILITARY -- {WEB}
- December 11, 2023
- Language English
- Transcript/Script MOLDOVA SECURITY MILITARY (TV) HEADLINE: Moldova Pushes Military Reforms Ahead of EU Negotiations TEASER: PUBLISHED: 12/11/2023 at 7:39a BYLINE: Carla Babb CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: BULBOACA TRAINING GROUNDS, MOLDOVA VIDEOGRAPHER: Ricardo Marquina VIDEO EDITOR: Carla Babb ASSIGNING EDITOR: Aru Pande SCRIPT EDITORS: Aru Pande, Reifenrath, SV (ok) VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV __ RADIO __ TRT: 4:15 VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath TYPE: EDITOR NOTES: there will be a total of 5 pkgs Carla is filing from Moldova to be produced and released this week and early next week as they are completed. )) ((INTRO)) [[The European Commission recently recommended opening negotiations for Ukraine and Moldova to join the European Union. Ukraine and the much smaller Moldova have a lot in common — both former Soviet states are turning to the West for help modernizing their military. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb brings us an exclusive look at Moldova’s security challenges.]] ((NARRATOR)) For nearly 30 years, Moldova’s military was an underfunded afterthought. One of the poorest countries in Europe, the former Soviet republic declared itself a neutral state after gaining independence in 1991; its military membership steadily declining to about 6,000 troops, less than 25% of its Soviet-era levels. ((NARRATOR)) Then Russia invaded Moldova’s northern neighbor, Ukraine. ((Kent Logsdon, US Ambassador to Moldova)) “We could hear the first bombs go off in Odesa from Chisinau, because it was a cloudy day and the sound traveled that far. So, all of Chisinau woke up absolutely panicked thinking that there were bombs exploding.” ((NARRATOR)) Kent Logsdon began work as U.S. ambassador to Moldova about a week before the February 2022 invasion. He said the invasion was eye-opening, especially as word spread of atrocities in the Ukrainian city of Bucha. ((Kent Logsdon, US Ambassador to Moldova)) “People here were very shocked. It was not the Russians that they knew, the Russians they had worked with for generations that had lived here. // It kind of drove a wedge between what people thought about Russia and what they thought about Russia’s view of Moldova was.” ((Carla Babb, VOA News)) Do you think that having that neutral status is still a guarantee against Russian aggression? ((Anatolie Nosatii, Moldovan Minister of Defense (male, English)) “I personally don't think so, because Ukraine was a neutral status state as well.” ((NARRATOR)) Moldovan Defense Minister Anatolie Nosatii said when members of the pro-Western government in Chisinau saw the invasion of Ukraine and Russian battle plans indicating targets inside Moldova, they realized they needed to accelerate their plans to bring Moldova’s military into the 21st century. ((Anatolie Nosatii, Moldovan Minister of Defense (male, English)) “As we’ve seen in their plan, we hear their rhetoric, definitely we were targeted and considered as the next target. That's why currently we are working very hard in order to enhance operational capability. // I've been in office just two years. however, in this period of time, we've been able to identify the resources to increase the budget." ((Carla Babb, VOA)) “How much have you increased the budget?” ((Anatolie Nosatii, Moldovan Minister of Defense (male, English)) “We started with a budget of 0.3 (percent of GDP). That was one of the lowest in Europe, and I think in the world. Currently we have 0.55, and that allowed us to conduct some acquisitions.” ((Carla Babb, VOA)) What do you need most? ((Anatolie Nosatii, Moldovan Minister of Defense (male, language?)) “About 90% of the equipment is outdated. Maintenance becomes very costly. In certain cases, there is impossibility to find any spare parts because nobody produces them anymore. My priority now is to make a modernization of the equipment, looking to implement NATO standard.” ((NARRATOR)) ((shots of convoy driving, troops)) VOA traveled to the military training grounds about an hour’s drive east of the capital to see firsthand Moldova’s defense needs. We didn’t have to go far before we found this old Soviet tank. ((Brig. Gen. Sergiu Cirimpei, Moldova's Deputy Chief of the General Staff )) “It provides some protection, but by far it does not provide the protection that the current battlefield requires.” ((Carla Babb, VOA)) Would you actually have to use that if you went to war right now? ((Brig. Gen. Sergiu Cirimpei, Moldova's Deputy Chief of the General Staff)) “We would have to use vehicles like that. Yes.” ((NARRATOR)) Brigadier General Sergiu Cirimpei is the deputy chief of Moldova’s general staff. ((Brig. Gen. Sergiu Cirimpei, Moldova's Deputy Chief of the General Staff (male, English))) “When you don't invest in the military for 30 years, it's difficult to change it overnight. So, you need time, you need to integrate the equipment, so we are working on all this.” ((Carla Babb, VOA News)) ((STANDUP)) “These are D-20s, artillery pieces dating back to the Soviet era. Ukraine transitioned away from these to the NATO standard howitzers when supplies started running short during the war. And Moldova now wants to modernize with Western howitzers, too.” ((BANG)) ((NARRATOR)) Since the war in Ukraine began, the United States and the European Union have pledged nearly $90 million dollars in foreign military assistance for Moldova to help its tiny military get up to speed. But upgrading even a small force takes years, so officials say that for now, Moldovan troops will have to rely on what they have. ((CARLA BABB, VOA NEWS, BULBOACA TRAINING GROUNDS, MOLDOVA))
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Location (dateline) BULBOACA TRAINING GROUNDS, MOLDOVA
- Embargo Date December 11, 2023 17:36 EST
- Byline CARLA BABB, VOA NEWS
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English