Russia has pledged to address Transnistria’s plea, while Moldova has condemned the call as a “propaganda declaration” Transnistria, an unrecognized republic that split from Moldova in the early 1990s, asked Russia on Wednesday for help amid mounting pressure from Chisinau, which it describes as an “economic blockade.”

China keeps stocking up on discounted coal while the West shuns Russian fossil fuels China purchased 7.42 million tons of Russian coal last month, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Saturday.

China’s defense chief has warned that Taipei is being dragged into a “dangerous situation”  China’s efforts toward “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan have been consistently undermined by “separatist and external forces,” Defense Minister Dong Jun has claimed. He also warned that anyone attempting to separate Taiwan from China would end up facing “self-destruction.”