MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. Moldova is on the brink of collapsing, with living standards deteriorating day by day, Ilan Shor, leader of Moldova’s opposition Sor party, said.

"It is no exaggeration to say that Moldova is on the verge of collapsing, and you can see it with your own eyes. Let me be clear: twenty percent of villages are uninhabited. This means that there are no people, not a single person, because everyone has left," he told journalists on the sidelines of an event organized by Moldova’s Center of Culture and Education in Moscow.

According to the Moldovan politician, young people are choosing to leave the country. "Year after year, all the indices that are essential for any normal state are deteriorating. Today, we are fighting for this country," he said.

"When the West ordered its 'hired manager' (President Maia Sandu) to fall out with Russia, the Moldovan people had to pay for this 'feast,'" Shor noted. "No one has compensated our citizens for their expenses on housing and utilities, no one has given any money for this. People had to pay for the European Union’s 'feast' from their pitiful incomes, while the European Union is rejoicing at what their employee Sandu has done."

Moldova is facing an energy crisis after gas and electricity prices rose dramatically last year, triggering double-digit inflation. The country has been engulfed by grassroots protests demanding Sandu’s resignation and early parliamentary elections since 2022. The protesters accuse the authorities of being unable to curb the economic crisis and deteriorating living standards.