Moldova Releases Russian National Nina Popova and Convicted Ex-Official in Exchange for Two Moldovan Officers Held in Moscow

CHISINAU, April 28. /TASS/. Moldova exchanged Russian national Nina Popova and former deputy chief of Moldova's Intelligence and Security Service Alexandru Balan, who was convicted for high treason, for two Moldovan officers who were arrested in Moscow, the country's President Maia Sandu said. "Two Moldovan citizens who were being held in Russia have been released and returned home. Both of them, employees of the Intelligence and Security Service, have been released and returned to our authorities as part of an international exchange of detainees," Sandu wrote on her Facebook page (Facebook is banned in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which has been designated as extremist). According to her, they were "exchanged for two individuals: Russian citizen Nina Popova and Alexandru Balan, a Moldovan citizen who is accused of high treason in the interests of the Belarusian KGB (State Security Committee - TASS." She also thanked the Polish, Romanian, and US authorities for their assistance.