Opinion: Moldova isn’t on the front page, but it could be in Putin’s crosshairs

Bucharest — At least every other week, Ana Golea takes the 620-mile round-trip journey back to her home city of Chisinau — the capital of Moldova — to visit her parents. Fearful for their well-being, the 34-year-old marketing specialist has been doing this ever since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At that point Moldova, which borders Ukraine and Romania, was quickly thought by some to be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s next target.