Live updates: Russia’s war in Ukraine

Several Russian missiles launched from ships in the Black Sea crossed Moldovan airspace Monday morning, according to a senior government minister.

“Three cruise missiles launched on Ukraine this morning from Russian ships in the Black Sea crossed Moldova’s airspace,” Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nico Popescu, said in a tweet.

“I instructed that Russia’s ambassador be summoned to provide an explanation.”

Some background: Since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in February, the Russian-backed breakaway region of Transnistria, in Moldova, has been brought into the spotlight.

Earlier this year, a series of unexplained explosions have occurred in parts of Transnistria, sparking fears that Moscow’s war could soon stretch beyond Ukraine and create a new theater of conflict in eastern Europe.

Transnistria is unrecognized by the international community, which considers it a part of Moldova. But the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, essentially has no control over the territory, which declared itself a republic more than three decades ago.