with you.
>> The former soviet republic of
Moldova has grown increasingly
worried about its security as
the war in Ukraine grinds on.
Not only is it hosting hundreds
of thousands of refugees, it has
had Russian troops in its
territory for years in a
breakaway region.
Are special correspondent
traveled to Moldova to hear how
the echoes of war in Ukraine
rain.
>> Guarding an almost invisible
line that today separates
conflict from comfort, peace
from war.
Until last month, Moldova's
border from Ukraine was a barely
mentioned relic of a soviet
past.
The sometimes problematic
perimeter stretching hundreds of
miles north from these fields.
For the country's border police,
it is now ground zero for a
refugee and safety crisis of
unprecedented proportions.
>> What is the biggest security
challenge you think you face
right now?
>> There are a few.
Right now, we are already facing
a migration of criminality.
>> Recently, we have also
reported cases that involve
military ammunition.
We believe criminal groups may
use this situation to traffic
weapons.
>> He took us on a tour through
his border region's no man's
land where his men scour
riverbanks and hillsides, away
from more remote outposts, the
busy crossings process up to 500
refugees each hour.
For several years, European
customs officers have operated
on both sides, advising mold
ovens and Ukrainians.
Now only in Moldova, they try to
help Ukrainians however they
can.
This eu border assistance
mission, Moldova recently
requested emergency membership
of the European union, a move he
welcomes.
>> I felt it was natural to
support a country that wants to
be part of this family in the
future, once to support as much
as you can during this terrible
time.
>> Support will expand as the
eu's border post expands.
Making this the eu's own new de
facto border and freeing Moldova
and forces to patrol further
afield, but they cannot room
entirely free, for within
Moldova's internationally
recognized borders is a
separatist region sealed off by
a river and supported by Russia.
As we traveled close, while
still very much on Moldova in
soil, we encountered Russians
manning military check once and
self identifying as
peacekeepers.
We are right in the middle of
Moldovan farmland, but a few
hundred yards that way, Russian
soldiers ask for our passports,
and this checkpoint could go a
little further this way, and you
end up in a separatist
territory.
For years, that has been home to
more than 1000 Russian troops.
After the soviet union
collapsed, a brief but brutal
conflict left Moldova divided.
The Kremlin backed Russian
speakers who declared an
independent state that remains
unrecognized elsewhere.
>> We support them financially,
economically, socially,
militarily, including
politically and diplomatically.
>> He has spent years
researching this separatist
territory and is concerned
Russia's presence represents a
real and present danger to
Moldova.
>> The problem is they have
control of this territory.
All this military structure is
under the control of Russia.
>> Do you think mold ovens can
trust Russia today?
>> Probably nobody can trust
Russians.
>> Back in Moldova's capital,
similar worries are widely
shared.
Russian compatriots are asking
them to support instances of
ethnic or linguistic, and that
has some people concerned about
Russian intentions toward this
former soviet state.
Meanwhile, at a Moscow concert
president Putin attended, one
popular Russian singer described
Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova as
his countries, but with help
from Europe, that must never
happen, the country's interior
minister told me.
>> Being part of the European
union means sharing the same
values, and equally
participating, but we understand
the republic starts here in the
republic of Moldova because that
is the primary concern and task
of the central authorities.
>> The Moldovan military and
military defense will not talk
publicly about the possibility
of a Russian invasion, focusing
instead on drills like these
which have been conducted along
the U.S. Military.
At this tense time, the
country's army still has its
critics.
>> Medically and professionally,
we are unable to face any
Russian attack.
>> Should people in Moldova have
faith?
>> They do not have a strong
army able to defend their
country as it is expected.
>> Back at the border, the chief
awaits greater manpower and more
modern equipment, but meanwhile,
he must make do with what he
already has.
Have you been told to prepare
for military attacks?
>> All our forces are ready for
any kind of change in the
situation.
>> This small country at the
edge of a great struggle,
willing to help but hoping not