Prime Ministers of Moldova

In a dramatic turn of events, Moldova has found itself in the throes of political upheaval just hours before local elections, as authorities banned the pro-Russian "Chance" party over concerns related to national security. The decision casts a shadow of uncertainty over Sunday's elections and threatens to disrupt the political landscape of the country.

The Chisinau Court of Appeal sentenced fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor to 15 years in prison in absentia for his key role in the so-called "Grand Theft" of one billion US dollars from Moldovan banking between 2012 and 2014.

President Maia Sandu's call for a major rally in support of Moldova's European Union membership aspirations on May 21 in Chisinau's central square got a boost on Monday as three small pro-European political parties said they would take part.

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Ivica Dacic has refuted in the strongest terms a statement by Moldovan President Maia Sandu about potential involvement of Serbian citizens in subversive actions aimed at destabilising Moldova, according to alleged Ukrainian information about Russian plans.

PM Maia Sandu and her cabinet are facing a pincer movement from a party led by a fugitive oligarch and the pro-Russian Socialists - both of which want her pro-Western government gone.

A Moldovan deputy for the pro-Russian Socialist Party, Alla Dolinta, resigned on Wednesday from parliament and from the Socialist Party of Moldova, PSRM, because of the party's stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"For over four-and-a-half months, in a neighbouring state, Ukraine, which is essentially my home because my parents were born there, is at war," she said.

Pro-Russian former Moldovan President Igor Dodon was detained by prosecutors on Tuesday on four charges including corruption and treason.

Investigators searched Dodon's Chisinau home, his mother's house and a villa being built by the Dodon family by the Dniester River, seizing tens of thousands of euros in cash and half a million lei [25,000 euros], anti-graft prosecutors said.

Moldova's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration summoned the Russian ambassador, Oleg Vasnetsov, on Thursday after Moldova received a series of threats from Moscow officials following its decision to ban Russian symbols of the invasion in Ukraine.

Officials and cultural figures laid flowers at the statue of Stephen the Great in the centre of Chisinau and at statues of Romanian-language writers in Central Park in the capital.

President Maia Sandu broadcast a video message celebrating the Romanian language and other languages spoken in the country.

The 80-year-old former President and Soviet-era hangover is running again for office in the July elections - challenging pro-Western forces in tandem with his disciple-turned-rival, Igor Dodon.