From diamonds in Yakutia to oil in Dagestan, the empire’s wealth becomes its undoing. The insurgency Moscow fears most begins at in the Caucasus.

Starting Monday, October 20, Moldova and Romania will conduct the Joint Combined Exchange Training-2025 (JCET), running through October 31. Moldova’s Defense Ministry announced the drills on October 18, according to NewsMaker . The exercises are part of the National Army’s 2025 training plan, and cooperation in this format between the two countries’ militaries has been ongoing since 2009. According to the ministry, troops will train at National Army training centers. “Under the scenario, service members will conduct live-fire drills with various small arms, take part in endurance and team-building activities, and receive combat medic training. In addition, officers, NCOs and soldiers will carry out both static-line and freefall parachute jumps using MC-6/T11R, Safire and Sigma systems,” the Defense Ministry said. Military vehicles will move on public roads - from bases to training sites. Officials emphasized that the drills are being held under the National Army’s 2025 annual training plan. Moscow has previously reacted sharply to Moldova’s adoption of a new Military Strategy and even issued threats. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov commented on the strategy, in which Russia is described as “the main threat.” He warned that if Moldova continues on a course of confrontation with Russia in pursuit of closer ties with Europe, “nothing good” awaits it. He added that the Kremlin views the document’s adoption as a continuation of Chisinau’s “confrontational line” toward Moscow.

YouTube video by Kyiv Independent