By Alexander Tanas
CHISINAU (Reuters) - Moldova's government, a fierce critic of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, appealed to the country's clergy on Sunday to "tell the truth" about the war, saying that Moscow's military actions had destroyed some 500 places of worship.
Government spokesperson Daniel Voda's appeal, on the eve of the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, appeared linked to a split in Moldova's Orthodox Church into competing branches subordinate to Russia and Romania.
More than 90 percent of churchgoers in Moldova, which lies between Ukraine and Romania, adhere to the Orthodox Church.
The invasion, backed enthusiastically by Russia's Orthodox Church, has accelerated a move by parishes from Moldova's majority Moscow-linked Moldova Metropolis to the smaller Romania-linked church, the Metropolis of Bessarabia.