A large part of Moldova's military equipment dates back to Soviet times and is in urgent need of replacement, Defense Minister Anatolie Nosatii told RFE/RL, adding that the money allocated by the government for defense amounts to a small sum but is still important for its badly underfunded and underequipped army.
Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries, was part of the Soviet Union until 1991, when it declared independence. It has a long border with Ukraine and has been hosting hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees since the start of Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has some 1,500 troops in Moldova's Moscow-backed separatist region of Transdniester, a sliver of land sandwiched between Moldova proper and Ukraine.
"Some 90 percent [of our military equipment] is of Soviet origin and dates back to the 1960s to the 1980s.... You cannot modernize a ZIL-131 [military truck] or an antiaircraft system made in the 1970s," Nosatii said.
Moldovan Defense Minister Anatolie Nosatii
The pro-European government of President Maia Sandu accelerated its EU bid after Russia invaded Ukraine and in June was given candidate status alongside Ukraine.
Moldova's armed forces consists of 6,500 professional personnel, while 2,000 conscripts are being recruited annually for compulsory military service. The military also employs 2,000 civilians as auxiliary personnel.
Nosatii told RFE/RL that the 0.5 percent of the gross domestic product allocated for defense by the government -- roughly $25.5 million -- while small, is still very important for the implementation of modernization projects.
Nosatii also spoke about the equipment shortages that the Moldovan military faces because of insufficient funding.
The Defense Ministry covers only partially the contents of the so-called "emergency backpack" that contract soldiers, who account for the bulk of Moldova's armed forces, must have at the ready for unexpected situations, Nosatii said.
Nosatii, who was appointed in August last year as defense minister in Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita's reformist government, told RFE/RL that his ministry's current priority is to provide every member of the armed forces with one of these individual first-aid medical kits.
Moldova has been cooperating with foreign partners, including NATO, in its efforts to supply the first-aid kits to its military personnel, Nosatii said.
Besides the first-aid kit, the emergency backpack must also include personal items such as underwear, socks, gloves, a woolly hat, food, and a flashlight, Nosatii said, adding that the state can only partially cover the cost of such equipment.
"For example," Nosatii told RFE/RL, "if the state provides four T-shirts [for daily usage] but the backpack has to cover seven days of deployment, the remainder of three or more T-shirts must be bought by the soldier."
Nosatii said that supplying Moldova's small military with equipment has been a permanent underlying problem but that the ministry has obtained aid from Moldova's external partners.
"You can't demand that a soldier perform his duties when he doesn't have what he needs, when he's cold, lacks military equipment, or is forced to buy it himself," Nosatii said.
Military equipment donated by Moldova's Western partners this year consists of protective gear such as helmets, flak jackets, and waterproof and winter clothing.
Earlier this month, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht visited Moldova and said Berlin is prepared to provide drones and other military equipment to Chisinau.
Lambrecht also said the German Army is ready to provide military training to Moldova.
She said Berlin also realizes the importance of supporting Moldova in the wake of energy shortages stemming from the war in Ukraine.