Two people have been killed after a man opened fire at Chisinau International Airport, the Moldovan Interior Ministry has said.

The gunman was wounded and detained, said police.

The interior ministry said the shooting had taken place after a foreign citizen was denied entry to the country.

"Authorities confirm two victims", the interior ministry said. President Maia Sandu said the two dead were a border guard and an airport security official.

Unconfirmed reports said that the suspect was a Russian national who took hostages and holed himself up in a room. Videos from the scene showed passengers outside the airport on the grass, as the building was evacuated.

Flights in and out of Chisinau airport, which is the country's largest, have been grounded.

Moldova has been on alert for months after President Sandu accused Russia of plotting to use foreign "saboteurs" to overthrow her pro-European Union government.

Moldova has a population of 2.6 million people and became a candidate for EU membership last summer.

It has been heavily exposed to the war in neighbouring Ukraine and faces tensions with its pro-Moscow breakaway region of Transnistria, where some 1,500 Russian soldiers are stationed.

President Sandu issued a statement offering condolences to the families of those killed, calling it "a sad day for all of us".

She said state security forces were on high alert across the country.