Located on Ukraine's western border, the small Eastern European nation of Moldova quickly applied for European Union accession when Russia invaded its larger neighbor in 2022.

Three years on, however, Moldova's path to full EU membership has become embroiled in an internal EU dispute linked to tensions with Hungary.

With celebrations marking independence from the Soviet Union just around the corner and crucial parliamentary elections only weeks away, European leaders Friedrich Merz, Emmanuel Macron, and Donald Tusk are in the capital, Chisinau, to boost morale amid growing Russian interference.