
VP, Due Diligence Startup. ex-@FDD/@C4ADS/@FulbrightPrgrm. Friends of Moldova Committee. MIP @BushSchool, @OhioState alum. Eyes on 🇲🇩 + 🇷🇴. Opinions mine
DC via Ohio/Chisinau/Bucharest
Joined July 2013
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Russia's overnight strike on Ukrainian energy infrastructure knocked out the 400kV Isaccea-Vulcănești line — Moldova's main electricity corridor to Europe.
🧵on some context, why this vulnerability matters, and how Moldova is addressing it:
Alexander St. Leger retweeted
Începând cu toamna anului 2027, Republica Moldova va achiziționa gaz extras de România în cadrul proiectului Neptun Deep.
Alexander St. Leger retweeted
Major data breach in Moldova: a colossal cyber attack withdrew info on 750,000 personal identification numbers egov.md/ro/node/41145
Alexander St. Leger retweeted
NEW: We got the list of “Business Deals” the US and Russia are discussing.
They include a potential return by US companies to the Russian oil market as part of wider talks to end Putin’s war, including JVs in Sakhalin and restoring the Druzhba pipeline:
ft.com/content/d703aaae-f607…
Alexander St. Leger retweeted
A few Ukraine-related stories in Moldova recently, including illegal border-crossing data, pro-Russian propaganda targeting Chișinău's ties to Kyiv, and brainwashing of ethnic Ukrainians in Transnistrian schools. First, Radio Free Europe has some informative data ...
Romania's SRI confirmed today that the fire at the Carfil plant in Brașov in September was a Russian-directed sabotage operation.
Also alleges that Moscow this year has targeted Romanian arms production, international military facilities, and facilities used for training the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
sri.ro/articole/comunicat-de…
Alexander St. Leger retweeted
🚨 SCOOP: @jemberga and I are revealing new details about sabotage at Milrem Robotics' facility in Tallinn. First, a previously unreported detail: the perpetrators actually broke inside the building to start the fire, pointing to security flaws.
balticflank.substack.com/p/t…
One Russian diplomat in Moldova PNG’d over this week’s drone crash in Chistelnița — which landed 100 meters from a residential building.
newsmaker.md/ru/mid-moldovy-…
Alexander St. Leger retweeted
An indicator of the threat Russia poses to Moldova during its invasion of Ukraine: Moldova and Ukraine have jointly-run border checkpoints located in Ukraine. Chișinău has withdrawn its border guards from four of these checkpoints in fear of RU attacks at the border...
If Sino-Russian industrial cooperation interests you (as it should), you should be sprinting to read my friend’s @zerkzal’s latest: ⤵️
As is always the case, whether the vector is ACW or correspondent banking — “China ultimately needs access to U.S. and Western markets, capital, and technology more than it needs Russia.”
Alexander St. Leger retweeted
Moldova's National Bureau of Statistics (BNS) has a really cool interactive mapping feature now, where you can visualize data all the way down to the local (commune) level. An example: the % of people who normally speak Romanian (the darker blue, the more Romanian speakers) ...
Alexander St. Leger retweeted
Wreszcie! Po niemal pół roku od upadku gabinetu Ilie Bolojana i trzech nieudanych próbach powołania nowego rządu Rumunia ma pełnoprawny gabinet. 🇷🇴⚡️🏛️
Parlament udzielił dziś wotum zaufania Luce Niculescu i jego radzie ministrów. Za głosowało 280 parlamentarzystów, przeciw 58 (wymagane minimum: 233).
Jest to jednak rząd mniejszościowy, a co za tym idzie – wysoce niestabilny.
W jego skład weszli przedstawiciele w zasadzie tylko jednej partii – socjaldemokratów (PSD). Objęli oni 11 z 16 resortów oraz stanowisko ministra delegowanego ds. edukacji przeduniwersyteckiej. Na czele pozostałych ministerstw stanęli firmowani przez prezydenta Nicușora Dana bezpartyjni. Bezpartyjny jest też sam premier.
W efekcie nowy układ nazywany jest niekiedy w rumuńskiej debacie publicznej „rządem PSD – Nicușor Dan”.
Gabinet uzyskał przede wszystkim głosy PSD, UDMR (centroprawicowa partia mniejszości węgierskiej) oraz PNL (centroprawica). Wszystkie te ugrupowania należały do koalicji rządzącej krajem do przełomu kwietnia i maja br. Współtworzący ją, Związek Ocalenia Rumunii (USR, centroprawica), nowego rządu nie poparł.
Kluczowe znaczenie dla przełamania niemal sześciomiesięcznego impasu miała zmiana stanowiska PNL. Jej przedstawiciele od miesięcy sprzeciwiali się ponownemu dopuszczeniu postkomunistów do władzy, ostatecznie jednak – by zakończyć kryzys i uniknąć przedterminowych wyborów – zmienili zdanie.
Co ważne, liberałowie nie weszli do nowego rządu i pozostali w opozycji, a dalsze poparcie dla Niculescu i jego gabinetu uzależnili od kilku warunków.
Chodzi m. in. o:
- utrzymanie celu redukcji deficytu budżetowego w 2027 r. (5,3% PKB),
- przeprowadzenie korekty obecnego budżetu, dostosowującej wydatki do rzeczywistej sytuacji finansowej państwa,
- przyjęcie budżetu na 2027 r., ale takiego, który uwzględni zobowiązania Rumunii, m. in. wynikające z KPO.
PNL zobowiązała się przy tym nie składać ani nie popierać wniosku o wotum nieufności co najmniej do 1 marca 2027 r., chyba że rząd złamie warunki porozumienia. Nowy gabinet ma więc dostać czas na realną pracę.
Biorąc pod uwagę niechęć PSD do cięcia wydatków i dalszego podnoszenia podatków, spełnienie tych warunków może się jednak okazać trudne. Największe napięcia pojawią się zapewne przy pracach nad budżetem na 2027 r. i ograniczaniem deficytu. PNL oczekuje utrzymania dyscypliny fiskalnej (przypomnijmy, że to ta partia forsowała realizowany od połowy 2025 r., bolesny społecznie program oszczędnościowy). Spory wywołają też pewnie dalsze oszczędności, ewentualne zmiany podatkowe, finansowanie świadczeń i inwestycji publicznych oraz tempo reformy administracji.
Jeśli porozumienie fiskalne zacznie się sypać, liberałowie mogą wycofać swoje poparcie.
A więc: „Kryzys umarł – niech żyje kryzys!”
A kim w ogóle jest Luca Niculescu?
To bezpartyjny dyplomata i były dziennikarz, urodzony 25 kwietnia 1971 r. w Bukareszcie. Studiował dziennikarstwo na Uniwersytecie Bukareszteńskim, a następnie ukończył studia magisterskie z dziennikarstwa europejskiego w Strasburgu. Przez ponad dwie dekady pracował w mediach, m. in. jako redaktor naczelny RFI România (rumuńskiej sekcji Radio France Internationale). W latach 2016–2022 był ambasadorem Rumunii we Francji, w Monako i Andorze. Od września 2022 r. był sekretarzem stanu w MSZ i koordynował proces akcesji Rumunii do OECD.
Mamy więc do czynienia z szefem rządu pozbawionym politycznego zaplecza, którego wspiera prezydent nieposiadający takowego (a w każdym razie niezbyt dużego).
No co tu może pójść źle?
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Alexander St. Leger retweeted
Russia is using a network of holiday homes in the Baltic to wage hybrid war on the West.
Great investigation from @JamesERothwell and @LilyShanagher
Western officials are taking action against hundreds of Russian-linked homes in Lithuania, Sweden and Norway, which have been bought close to strategic military sites or key infrastructure.
The most serious cases involve oligarch-linked properties at the entrances to naval bases, and holiday homes in close proximity to Nato facilities.
telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2…
Alexander St. Leger retweeted
Russian military blogger says Ukrainian mid-range drone strikes on the main Russian supply route in occupied southern Ukraine have almost ceased because of the throttling of Starlink.
No need to elaborate on what this new freedom of logistics for Russia means for the frontline.
Alexander St. Leger retweeted
The Party of Socialists (PSRM), the largest pro-Kremlin party in Moldova, has launched its campaign for the Gagauz elections (Nov. 15) in a one-minute clip. One of the PSRM candidates says in the Russian language that the party will defend the Gagauz language, ...
0.41 Scaramuccis
A senior White House official tells @pdoocy Katie ZACHARIA is “transitioning out” of the press secretary position.
Alexander St. Leger retweeted
We're in a new age of Chinese mercantilism. China is diverting exports away from the US and flooding EM with stuff. It doesn't really matter where you look. It's happening everywhere and is choking off goods from the rest of the world. A tectonic shift...
robinjbrooks.substack.com/p/…
Alexander St. Leger retweeted
NEW!! Romania says 4 merchant ships were targeted in Black Sea over the past 24 hours, leaving 8 dead
5 crew members were hospitalized after an attack in Romania’s exclusive economic zone
Bucharest blames Russia and says NATO’s North Atlantic Council will convene within days
Romanian air and naval units of the Coast Guard (GdC/MAI) and Emergency Situation Service (IGSU/MAI) are actively engaged in search& rescue operations, searching for the missing members of the crew of the ship that was attacked this morning in Romania’s exclusive economic zone at the Black Sea.
The 5 crew members that were already taken by helicopter to the hospital in Constanta are stable, some receive medical care for burns and smoke inhalation.
In its war of aggression against Ukraine, against all provisions of international law, Russia is making the Black Sea into a dangerous area for civilian ships. The killing of merchant mariners in the region and all over the world is a crime. Russia bears full responsibility for these developments.
Over the last 24 hours, four merchant ships were targeted, including in Romanian territorial waters and its economic exclusive zone and eight lives were lost.
Our condolences to the families that have lost a loved one.
These are callous and murderous attacks against civilians. This happens at the same time that we see an increasing number of Russian Shahed and other types of air and maritime drones entering our space, three of them just today. Our military has lifted fighter jets for preventive air policing.
We informed the Allies and our European partners of the latest incidents. Investigations are under way and we are closely coordinating with our Allies and partners and we will step up efforts to strengthen NATO’s collective ability to respond effectively to such incidents and reinforce its deterrence and defence posture.
We agreed that North Atlantic Council will be convened within days by Secretary General Mark Rutte, after a meeting with President Nicușor Dan and prime minister of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev.
We continue to ask for a ceasefire at the Black Sea to stop the risk on civilian ships and restore safety of navigation on an essential global food trade artery.
Alexander St. Leger retweeted
WATCH: The first images of the vessel Wine Trader, reportedly struck by two drones in Romanian territorial waters, have emerged. The footage shows damage to the ship’s upper structure.
Romanian authorities are conducting a rescue operation, but extremely rough seas are preventing rescuers from safely reaching the four crew members still aboard.
BREAKING: 🇷🇴Romania has launched another search-and-rescue operation in the Black Sea after the San Marino-flagged vessel Wine Trader reportedly came under a drone attack in Romanian territorial waters, approximately 13 nautical miles southeast of Sulina.
The vessel issued a distress call at around 07:00 local time after a fire broke out aboard. According to initial reports, 12 crew members were on board, with eight currently reported missing.
Sailors aboard nearby vessels reportedly said they witnessed the ship being struck by two drones.
Romanian authorities have deployed the ARSVOM rescue vessel Apollo and a helicopter to conduct search-and-rescue operations as efforts continue to locate the missing crew members.
The incident comes just hours after the separate emergency involving the Comoros-flagged vessel YARA J, which also reported a fire near Sulina following drone incursions into Romanian airspace.
Both incidents occurred in Romanian territorial waters.


























