World News for Students of English

20-03-2023 15:00

Moldova is a small country of 2.5 million people which lies between Ukraine and Romania.

In 2020, new president Maia Sandu promised that the country would seek to become a member of the European Union. Moldova used to be part of the Soviet Union, so this news made Russia very angry.

Since the war in Ukraine started in February 2022, the situation in Moldova became unstable. There were bomb hoaxes, internet hacks, and protests. Some people say that Russia is trying to undermine the pro-western government. In some parts of Moldova, almost everyone speaks Russian, mainly because of the common history of both countries. Allegedly, some people support Russia, but officials said that the country didn’t want to become part of the conflict between the West and Russia.

Difficult words: seek (to try to get something), bomb hoax (when someone says that a bomb is somewhere, but it is not true), undermine (to make someone less powerful), allegedly (according to what someone says, but it is not clear if it is true).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.