Moldovan President Igor Dodon asked for the dismissal of Defence Minister Gheorghe Galbura, after 57 military staff left for a military exercise in Ukraine despite the president banning the move.

This was the latest in a longer series of clashes between Dodon and the government. Moldova’s Democratic Party led government is pro-EU, but pro-Russian Dodon has been trying to strengthen the country’s relations with Moscow ever since he took office last year and has strongly opposed the opening of a Nato liaison office in Chisinau.

On September 6, the government approved the participation of the Moldovan military staff in the military exercise in Ukraine, despite Dodon opposing this one day before. The conflict escalated later on September 6 when the president announced that he has decided to suspend the government's decision. However, the military personnel left for Ukraine on September 7.

“It is confirmed again that the current Democrat government is willing to put into practice any indication of the political partners from across the ocean, whose main aim is to join to Moldovan armed forces to Nato, albeit unofficially, and to involve it in possible geopolitical conflicts,” Dodon wrote on Facebook on September 8.

Dodon asked for Galbura’s dismissal and ordered an investigation within Moldova’s armed forces in order to identify the people responsible “for violating the supreme commander’s order” and to demote them.