On the edge of Europe is a pocket of pro-Russian support which has been under close watch since the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
Transnistria is a breakaway region in eastern Moldova which is politically, economically and militarily supported by Moscow.
Neither Moldova nor the wider international community recognise its independence.
In Transnistria’s capital, Tiraspol, hammer and sickle banners flutter in the wind as public opinion favours the east.
Image: Andrey
“Transnistria and Russia are one structure and they have to be united,” says resident, Andrey, when asked if the Russian military should leave Transnistria.
Image: This woman says she feels safe with Russian troops around
“The Russian troops here are our guarantee of safety. While they are here, we are safe,” a young woman adds.
Here, it’s neighbouring country, Ukraine, that’s been eyed with suspicion.
Last week, security services in the region said they’d thwarted a Ukrainian plot to murder officials including the separatist leader.
Kyiv has denied the allegations as Russian provocation.
But the pro-Kremlin sentiment has left many people living a few miles away in pro-western Moldova feeling uneasy.
In the village of Calfa, allegiances are very different.
“I’m so close I can hear Transnistrian TV and radio. Every day they’re talking about war, about the invasion of Ukraine. We don’t believe them because they broadcast fake news,” says Ludmila Ceaglac, the local mayor.
Image: Local mayor Ludmila Ceaglac
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, they’ve started feeling nervous of their neighbours.
“I understand they have a big base with weapons from the Second World War and this is our biggest fear. We don’t know if the weapons are active. We hope they won’t come here with their weapons because Moldova has a small army,” she explains.
While few analysts forecast a full-scale Russian invasion of Moldova via Transnistria, Moscow has been accused of launching a hybrid war including stirring up unrest at anti-government protests and spreading propaganda.
Last month, Moldova’s President Sandu said they had uncovered plans to use foreign saboteurs to stage a coup.
Russia’s foreign ministry rejected the allegations as “completely unfounded and unsubstantiated”.
On Sunday, Moldovan police arrested seven people accused of instigating unrest during anti-government protests.
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0:50
Police foil pro-Russia plot in Moldova
On a visit to the capital, the UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly arrived with a message of support and £10m to help fight Russian interference.
“You are not alone,” he said in a meeting with his counterpart in the capital Chisinau.
“In his arrogance, Vladimir Putin has attempted to punish Moldova for doing those right things, and its incumbent on the UK to support Moldova on its journey in the right direction,” Mr Cleverly added.
Ministers aren’t preparing for Russian tanks to roll into Moldova but they say they are already fighting a war; a battle against Kremlin-backed disinformation and disruption aimed at spreading fear and unrest.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan for Israel to take full military control of the Gaza Strip has been condemned, amid fears a reoccupation could put the lives of Palestinians and the remaining Israeli hostages at risk.
Asked in a Fox News interview on Thursday if Israel would “take control of all of Gaza”, the prime minister replied: “We intend to, in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza.”
“We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter,” he continued. “We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life.”
Israel already controls around 75% of Gaza and has largely sealed its borders.
To take full control, it would need to launch ground operations in the remaining areas that have not been destroyed, where most of Gaza’s two million population have sought refuge.
Israel’s security cabinet, which would need to approve the military operations, began a meeting on Thursday evening, but for now no official announcement has been made.
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1:53
Netanyahu on Israel’s plans for Gaza
Plan will ‘put hostages and soldiers in danger’
The plan has been criticised by many, including families of hostages being held by Hamas and a top Israeli Defence Force (IDF) official.
Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, said Mr Netanyahu promised her that he would pursue a deal to free the hostages.
She said in a post on X: “Someone who talks about a comprehensive deal doesn’t go and conquer the Strip and put hostages and soldiers in danger.
“Netanyahu and his partners are about to condemn [Matan] to death.”
Israel’s military chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, has warned against occupying Gaza, saying it would endanger the hostages and put further strain on the IDF, according to Israeli media reports.
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In an illustration of the kind of opposition Israel could face internationally if it purses the plan, a Jordanian official aid Arabs would “only support what Palestinians agree and decide on”.
“Security in Gaza must be done through legitimate Palestinian institutions,” the source said.
“Arabs will not be agreeing to Netanyahu’s policies nor clean his mess.”
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0:50
Israeli hostage families sail near Gaza
At least 42 more Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, say hospitals
It comes after at least 42 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes and shootings across southern Gaza on Thursday, according to local hospitals.
At least 13 of those people were seeking aid in an Israeli military zone where UN aid convoys are regularly overwhelmed by desperate crowds and looters.
Image: An Israeli soldier, standing next to an Israeli flag, looks out across Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Another two were killed on roads leading to sites run by the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.
The GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites on Thursday.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas killed about 1,200 people – mostly civilians – in its attack on 7 October 2023 and abducted 251 others. They still hold approximately 50 of those hostages – with 20 believed to be alive – after most of the others were released in ceasefires or other deals.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between militants and civilians in its count.
Vladimir Putin has played down the possibility of a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying that while it is possible, certain conditions must be met.
The Russian president was responding to an American proposal of a trilateral meeting between him, the Ukrainian president and Donald Trump.
The idea was floated by Steve Witkoff, the US president’s envoy during talks with Mr Putin on Wednesday, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Mr Ushakov said the three-way option was “simply mentioned by the American representative during the meeting in the Kremlin”.
He added, however: “This option was not specifically discussed.”
On the prospect of meeting Mr Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin said: “I have already said many times that I have nothing against it in general – it is possible.”
However, he distanced himself from any such meeting happening soon, adding: “But certain conditions must be created for this. Unfortunately, we are still far from creating such conditions.”
Image: Pic: AP
Mr Zelenskyy offered to speak to Vladimir Putin in May, challenging him to meet in Istanbul for talks on ending the war in Ukraine – an invitation the Russian leader declined.
While a trilateral meeting appears to be off the agenda, Mr Ushakov said an agreement had been reached for Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to meet “in the coming days”.
After the US president touted a “very good prospect” of the leaders meeting for Ukraine ceasefire talks, Mr Ushakov said on Thursday that Russian and American officials had started working on the details.
“At the suggestion of the American side, an agreement was essentially reached to hold a bilateral meeting at the highest level in the coming days,” he said.
“We are now beginning concrete preparations together with our American colleagues.”
Regarding a trilateral meeting, Mr Ushakov said: “We propose, first of all, to focus on preparing a bilateral meeting with Trump, and we consider it most important that this meeting be successful and productive.”
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2:10
Will Putin agree to Trump’s condition to meet Zelenskyy?
It would be the first time the two leaders have met since Mr Trump returned to office, and follows a three-hour meeting between Mr Putin and Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday.
Following the meeting, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it appeared that Russia was “more inclined to a ceasefire”.
The Ukrainian president said he planned to speak on Thursday to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as contacts from France and Italy.
He said he planned to discuss a ceasefire, a leaders’ summit and long-term security, adding: “Ukraine has never wanted war and will work toward peace as productively as possible.”
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A poll from Gallup suggests 69% of Ukrainians support a negotiated end to the war with Russia – an almost complete reversal from 2022, when 73% favoured fighting until victory.
Most said they were sceptical the war would end soon, with 68% saying they believed it was unlikely that active fighting would stop within the next 12 months.