The next country on the brink, Moldova struggles with a hint of war and wave of refugees

Volunteers in Moldova have stepped in to help where the government cannot. The small, land-locked country, between Romania and Ukraine, is struggling with the influx of refugees.

Moldovan Alex Bonjoca was working in Ireland when he learned that Russia invaded Ukraine and booked a flight home that same day.

He was worried for his family, who remained in a small village near the Ukraine border, and for his neighbours: the Ukrainians. Only 50 km from the border is Odesa, the city the Russians were shelling. Refugees were making a run for it, toward Moldova.

Bonjoca now spends his days wheeling food back and forth to a kilometres-long queue of cars streaming into the border, as Russian troops continue their advance along the coast, leaving devastation in their wake.

“This is our job now,” Bonjoca tells Global News with a smile.

“This is a problem for all of Europe. We are the neighbour to Ukraine… this is our motivation to help the Ukrainian people.”

He says he does not intend to return to Ireland until the war is over.

Bonjoca is one of many volunteers who have stepped in to help where the Moldovan government cannot. The small, land-locked country, sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, struggles with the influx of refugees.

According to UNHCR, some 230,000 Ukrainian refugees have entered Moldova since Feb. 24. As one of the poorest countries in Europe, Moldova does not have the resources to cope with the constant stream of new arrivals and authorities have warned of a looming humanitarian crisis if the country does not receive financial aid.