Ukrainian military transport aircraft have been regularly landing at the Markuleshty airfield in Moldova, Russia’s ambassador in Kishinev, Oleg Ozerov, told RIA Novosti.

According to the envoy, Moscow is also watching the modernization of the airport in Markuleshty. Against this backdrop, Russia has questions for the Moldovan authorities, primarily about how Kishinev is observing the country’s neutral status, which is enshrined in its constitution.

The possible use of Moldova in connection with the Ukrainian conflict has been raised before. In February 2025, Yulia Zhdanova, acting head of the Russian delegation at the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, said the republic had become one of the key transit points for illegal weapons coming from Ukraine.

Russia has repeatedly warned Western countries that arms deliveries to the Ukrainian armed forces do not change the situation on the battlefield and only prolong the conflict. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also said Moscow would regard any cargo carrying such weapons as a legitimate target.