Moldova declares Russian embassy employee persona non grata

CHISINAU (Reuters) -Moldova declared a Russian embassy employee in the capital Chisinau persona non grata on Monday, and Russian news agencies quoted Moscow as saying it would respond to the decision.

The Moldovan Foreign Ministry did not identify the employee in a statement issued after the Russian ambassador was summoned and informed that the employee must leave Moldova.

Relations between Chisinau and Moscow are strained by the presence of Russian peacekeeping troops in Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region, and have risen further during the war in neighbouring Ukraine.

Moldova, a former Soviet republic that is dependent on Russian energy supplies but has said it wants to join the European Union, said earlier on Monday that missile debris had landed in a Moldovan village after a Russian attack on Ukraine.

The Moldovan Foreign Ministry said the Russian ambassador was told that "missile attacks on a neighbouring country continue to increase security risks, and the citizens of our country increasingly feel the devastating consequences of the war."

"It is emphasised that attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure also create increasing threats to the energy security of Moldova," it said.

Russian news agencies quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying Moscow would respond to Moldova's move but gave no further details.

(Reporting by Alexander Tanas, Editing by Timothy Heritage)