Britain will arm Moldova to a 'Nato standard' to discourage Vladimir Putin's expansionist ambitions, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss reveals

• Liz Truss says Moldova could get modern weapons to quell any Russian invasion 
• She said she wants to see the tiny nation 'equipped to a Nato standard' in future 
• Foreign Secretary accused Vladimir Putin of aiming to create a 'greater Russia' 

By IMOGEN HORTON FOR THE DAILY MAIL

PUBLISHED: 00:30 BST, 21 May 2022 | UPDATED: 08:20 BST, 21 May 2022

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss revealed that talks were taking place to ensure the country had ‘Nato standard’ defences to discourage Vladimir Putin from embarking on any further expansion

Moldova could get modern weaponry to protect it from a Russian invasion, Liz Truss has said.

The Foreign Secretary revealed that talks were taking place to ensure the country had ‘Nato standard’ defences to discourage Vladimir Putin from embarking on any further expansion.

She accused the Russian president of wanting to create a ‘greater Russia’ and feared Moldova, south-west of Ukraine, could be Moscow’s next target.

‘I want to see Moldova equipped to Nato standard. This is a discussion we’re having with our allies,’ she told The Daily Telegraph.

‘Putin has been absolutely clear about his ambitions to create a greater Russia – and just because his attempts to take Kyiv weren’t successful, it doesn’t mean he’s abandoned those ambitions.’ 

If the talks are successful, members of the Nato military alliance will send high-tech weaponry to the non-Nato member Moldova and train their military to use it.

This would replace the country’s Soviet-era equipment Moldova currently has. 

Any sharing of military equipment would be indication that the UK and its allies see the invasion of Ukraine as a turning point in Russian relations.

Putin has previously signalled his intentions to join up with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Moldova.

Concerns were first raised when the Belarusian president, a long-time ally of Putin, Alexander Lukashenko appeared to reveal plans for an invasion of Moldova during a broadcast about Russian military movements in the early stages of the Ukraine war. 

'It is hell there': Ukrainian President Zelensky says the Donbas region has been 'completely destroyed' by Moscow's forces 

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the Donbas region in the east of the country has been ‘completely destroyed’.

His grim assessment came after weeks of Russia focusing its attacks and shelling in this area.

He added in an address to the nation: ‘It is hell there and that is not an exaggeration.’

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10839115/Liz-Truss-reveals-talks-underway-ensure-Moldova-armed-Nato-standard-weapons.html