August 5, 2026
News
Moldova is a small country between its big neighbours, Romania and Ukraine. It is seeking to join the European Union and is known for a famous wine-making heritage. At the same time, Moldova is facing a number of internal issues, including a separatist region on the border with Ukraine or the emigration of young people abroad. Let's have a closer look at Moldova together.
1. Czech village in Moldova
The small village of Huluboaia in the southern part of Moldova was founded in the late 19th century by a group of 153 Czechs. Today, only a few locals speak Czech, but a group of volunteers visits every summer to promote Czech language education and revive Czech customs and traditions.
2. Transnistria, the separatist state
The region of the so-called Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic spreads along the Ukrainian border on the left bank of the Dniester river. As a separatist state, it broke away from Moldova in the early 1990s during the collapse of the Soviet Union, when local residents worried that the newly established country would join Romania.
Transnistria is strongly associated with pro-Russian sentiment, and its leaders have long sought closer ties with Russia, which supports the local government and maintains its own troops in the territory. Approximately 60% of the local population, which means over 220,000 people, speak Russian, the streets are filled with statues of Lenin, and tourists can purchase postcards with Putin.
However, no UN member state, including Russia, recognises Transnistria's independence. At the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the neighbouring country closed the shared border. Transnistria became dependent on imports from Moldova, and people from Ukraine could leave their country only through the direct border with Moldova.
3. Transit country for refugees
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, Moldova has become a country through which large numbers of refugees continue to reach safety. More than 1 million people have already crossed Moldova's borders. Some refugees remain in Moldova, mainly to be closer to their home in Ukraine. In June 2026, Moldova was hosting over 140,000 refugees.
Caritas has been helping refugees in Moldova since the beginning of the war. We provided assistance at border crossings, delivered healthcare and social support, and equipped refugee centres. At the same time, we helped people meet their basic needs through both one-off and recurring cash assistance.
In collaboration with partners, we supported more than 200,000 refugees, including the Bogoeva family:
We are grateful for the support we received from Caritas Czech Republic, including cash assistance and vouchers for groceries and winter clothing. It helps us a lot from the beginning and we felt that Moldova is a safe place for us.
Foto: The Bogeova family
4. Large gap between rural and urban living standards
Life in the capital, Chisinau, differs significantly from conditions in rural Moldova, where people face a lack of job opportunities and limited access to services. Local people often do not have access to safe drinking water because they fetch water from wells which is often contaminated.
This is why we help local people in Moldova secure access to safe drinking water. Last year, for example, we completed the construction of a unique rainwater harvesting system capable of collecting, filtering, and storing water. The system was installed at a kindergarten in the village of Bilicenii Vechi, where it provides water for 135 children. We hope it will serve as an inspiration for other Moldovan communities in the future.
5. People are leaving the country
Officially, nearly 3 million people live in Moldova. According to some sources, however, the number could be cut in half. Primarily, young people are often leaving their homeland to seek opportunities and higher salaries abroad, for example, in Western European countries. Many of them continue to support their relatives in Moldova.
This is particularly the case in rural areas, where the population is ageing and many residents do not have close family members who could take care of them. That is also why Caritas Czech Republic opened 11 homecare centres in the country, which provide people with social support and healthcare services. Thanks to that, we were able to help Nina, who had been taking care of her husband by herself.
Foto: Nina with her husband
6. The most extensive wine cellars are located in Mileștii Mici
Winemaking has a great tradition in Moldova and is one of the leading industries. Moldovans mainly grow white wine, and there are still interesting native varieties to be found.
The wine cellars in the village of Mileștii Mici have the most extensive collection of wines and have made it into the Guinness Book of Records, with almost 2 million bottles stored here. The entire length of the cellars is 250 km, but today only about 120 km are used.
7. There is only one UNESCO World Heritage Site in Moldova
The Struve Geodetic Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching from the north of Norway to the Black Sea. It was built by the Russian astronomer von Struve to determine the exact dimensions of the Earth along the meridian. Its total length is over 2,820 kilometres.
8. EU candidate state
Moldova has been a candidate state to join the European Union since 2022. It applied a month after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and got its current status three months later. Negotiations are currently ongoing, and Ukraine, like Moldova, is also pursuing membership in the European Union.
9. Caritas Czech Republic has operated in the country for over 20 years
We have been helping in Moldova since 2004. The country is one of the poorest and least visited in Europe. For many years, we therefore focused primarily on the development of social and healthcare services. We also introduced telemedicine, which supported residents of remote areas. Our current focus is on transforming Moldovan schools into safe, welcoming, and inclusive learning environments.
