3 ms·

Thousands of Romanians waiting in their cars to pick up refugees at the border

99 points by dev_tty01 5y ago

diogenesjunior 5y ago
dmitriid 5y ago
Not too many news about my country, Moldova, immediately responding and providing similar help see e.g https://twitter.com/ruxanda_romana/status/1497630078045405190 https://twitter.com/ruxanda_romana/status/149763007804540519... and https://twitter.com/Fisher_FCDO/status/1497671470952194048 https://twitter.com/Fisher_FCDO/status/1497671470952194048 (last one is British ambassador to Moldova) etc. Also, the President's Twitter account https://twitter.com/sandumaiamd https://twitter.com/sandumaiamd Poland, Romania and Moldova's response has been immediate.
- type0 5y ago
  What are the chances that a similar situation could develop in Moldova? thinking mostly about Transnistria that would give Russians justification for invasion if your leaders would made Putin sufficiently angry
  - mytailorisrich 5y ago
    I think that there is a possibility that Russia's current plans in Ukraine either already include, or will extend to, taking over Transnistria.
    - contingencies 5y ago
      Transnistrian ruble plummets
  - jotm 5y ago
    At this rate, they'd be lucky if they can hold on to DNR/LNR, if not Crimea tbh. Russian ground forces are getting fucked. They could start indiscriminately bombing cities, but that would look really bad for the Russian government and be cause for actual foreign intervention. They will not use nukes. There are plenty of people in between them and Putin who understand they're only a last resort for defense. And inb4 "they're just testing waters with conscripts". Nobody does that. Russian vehicles rolled in on Ukrainian roads without a single roadblock. Now they're starting to put up hedgehogs and are generally better aware, and also getting more western weapons. A second wave would meet the same, or worse, fate. The Russian army is severely underequipped and underfunded. All they have is nukes. And tbh, I'm not even sure half of those work, which might explain their fear of NATO at the border. With any luck, this will spark a reunification effort between Moldova and Romania and have Russia so humiliated they won't try it again for decades. Transnistria, btw, is already de facto Russian. They won't go any further with it, because that would be a waste of money. They could try to take Moldova if their Ukraine invasion fails, but I think the chances are pretty low after such a massive failure. Not to mention that sadly, all it would take to turn the next election pro-Russian is a few good donations and/or threats. 80% of Moldova's energy supply comes from one Transnistrian power plant, and people (30% Russian plus the pro-Russian Gagauz) are pissed about the energy price increases, blaming the government, and brainwashed by whatever Russian media they're consuming. We'll see how this comment ages.
    - credit_guy 5y ago
      > They will not use nukes. I would not be so sure. At the least Putin will resume the underground nuclear tests, if things don't go so well for him. If people don't take the hint, he'll do some above ground tests. Then, he'll make use of the novel Russian doctrine "escalate to de-escalate" [1], which means he'll drop some tactical nukes in the theater of operations. [1] https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russia%E2%80%99s-crazy-nuclear-war-strategy-escalationto-de-escalate-180680 https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russia%E2%80%99s-craz...
      - jotm 5y ago
        If anything, he will start by actually cutting off natural resource supplies to Europe. Which would be no joke, as the continent severely depends on them. Of course, it would hurt Russia too, but we already see that they don't care. Best case scenario imo, Putin "suddenly gets ill and dies" and they get a more level headed leader who will revert things to the status quo.
- eCa 5y ago
  Just read in a non-English newspaper about someone crossing into Moldova and being very thankful about the people waiting in their cars for someone to pick up. Just wanted to let you know that there are mentions of Moldova.
lucian-g 5y ago
In Romania this started with a few people at the border offering free food and a a transport company that shuttled refugees from the border to nearby cities/airport. A few Facebook groups popped up and people from across the entire country (even very far away from the border) started offering their help and their homes. Within a day NGOs, local businesses (restaurants, hotels), Churches and big businesses (telecom companies offering free sim cards) got involved and sent people at the border to offer aid. The groups also serve as a place where Ukrainians ask about waiting times at different border crossings, crossing without a Passport, crossing with pets, etc. If you know people fleeing Ukraine towards Romania or Moldova send them to these groups: For Romania: - "UNIȚI PENTRU UCRAINA - Єдині за Україну - United for Ukraine" - https://www.facebook.com/groups/unitipentruucraina/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/unitipentruucraina/ For Moldova: - "Ajutor ucraineni în Moldova / SOS Українці Молдовa" (Help Ukrainians in Moldova) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/347615063908402 https://www.facebook.com/groups/347615063908402
moltar 5y ago
… for money ~ €400 to transport to another country. Source: a close relative is a refugee that is going thru Romania. Edit: I don’t really blame them. Gas costs a lot of money.

99 points by dev_tty01 5y ago

Not too many news about my country, Moldova, immediately responding and providing similar help see e.g https://twitter.com/ruxanda_romana/status/1497630078045405190 https://twitter.com/ruxanda_romana/status/149763007804540519... and https://twitter.com/Fisher_FCDO/status/1497671470952194048 https://twitter.com/Fisher_FCDO/status/1497671470952194048 (last one is British ambassador to Moldova) etc. Also, the President's Twitter account https://twitter.com/sandumaiamd https://twitter.com/sandumaiamd Poland, Romania and Moldova's response has been immediate.

type0 5y ago
What are the chances that a similar situation could develop in Moldova? thinking mostly about Transnistria that would give Russians justification for invasion if your leaders would made Putin sufficiently angry
- mytailorisrich 5y ago
  I think that there is a possibility that Russia's current plans in Ukraine either already include, or will extend to, taking over Transnistria.
  - contingencies 5y ago
    Transnistrian ruble plummets
- jotm 5y ago
  At this rate, they'd be lucky if they can hold on to DNR/LNR, if not Crimea tbh. Russian ground forces are getting fucked. They could start indiscriminately bombing cities, but that would look really bad for the Russian government and be cause for actual foreign intervention. They will not use nukes. There are plenty of people in between them and Putin who understand they're only a last resort for defense. And inb4 "they're just testing waters with conscripts". Nobody does that. Russian vehicles rolled in on Ukrainian roads without a single roadblock. Now they're starting to put up hedgehogs and are generally better aware, and also getting more western weapons. A second wave would meet the same, or worse, fate. The Russian army is severely underequipped and underfunded. All they have is nukes. And tbh, I'm not even sure half of those work, which might explain their fear of NATO at the border. With any luck, this will spark a reunification effort between Moldova and Romania and have Russia so humiliated they won't try it again for decades. Transnistria, btw, is already de facto Russian. They won't go any further with it, because that would be a waste of money. They could try to take Moldova if their Ukraine invasion fails, but I think the chances are pretty low after such a massive failure. Not to mention that sadly, all it would take to turn the next election pro-Russian is a few good donations and/or threats. 80% of Moldova's energy supply comes from one Transnistrian power plant, and people (30% Russian plus the pro-Russian Gagauz) are pissed about the energy price increases, blaming the government, and brainwashed by whatever Russian media they're consuming. We'll see how this comment ages.
  - credit_guy 5y ago
    > They will not use nukes. I would not be so sure. At the least Putin will resume the underground nuclear tests, if things don't go so well for him. If people don't take the hint, he'll do some above ground tests. Then, he'll make use of the novel Russian doctrine "escalate to de-escalate" [1], which means he'll drop some tactical nukes in the theater of operations. [1] https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russia%E2%80%99s-crazy-nuclear-war-strategy-escalationto-de-escalate-180680 https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russia%E2%80%99s-craz...
    - jotm 5y ago
      If anything, he will start by actually cutting off natural resource supplies to Europe. Which would be no joke, as the continent severely depends on them. Of course, it would hurt Russia too, but we already see that they don't care. Best case scenario imo, Putin "suddenly gets ill and dies" and they get a more level headed leader who will revert things to the status quo.
eCa 5y ago
Just read in a non-English newspaper about someone crossing into Moldova and being very thankful about the people waiting in their cars for someone to pick up. Just wanted to let you know that there are mentions of Moldova.

lucian-g 5y ago

In Romania this started with a few people at the border offering free food and a a transport company that shuttled refugees from the border to nearby cities/airport. A few Facebook groups popped up and people from across the entire country (even very far away from the border) started offering their help and their homes. Within a day NGOs, local businesses (restaurants, hotels), Churches and big businesses (telecom companies offering free sim cards) got involved and sent people at the border to offer aid. The groups also serve as a place where Ukrainians ask about waiting times at different border crossings, crossing without a Passport, crossing with pets, etc. If you know people fleeing Ukraine towards Romania or Moldova send them to these groups: For Romania: - "UNIȚI PENTRU UCRAINA - Єдині за Україну - United for Ukraine" - https://www.facebook.com/groups/unitipentruucraina/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/unitipentruucraina/ For Moldova: - "Ajutor ucraineni în Moldova / SOS Українці Молдовa" (Help Ukrainians in Moldova) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/347615063908402 https://www.facebook.com/groups/347615063908402

moltar 5y ago

… for money ~ €400 to transport to another country. Source: a close relative is a refugee that is going thru Romania. Edit: I don’t really blame them. Gas costs a lot of money.