On Tuesday, two explosions damaged Soviet-era radio masts in the village of Maiac. Ahead of the attacks, a senior Kremlin commander said, according to Russian state media, that the Russian Armed Forces were planning to “cross” into southern Ukraine to reach the breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova.
Where is Transnistria?
Transnistria is a narrow strip of land 248 miles long in Moldova that borders Ukraine and has a population of 470,000. The region is more or less equally divided between Ukrainians, Russians and Moldovans, a former Moldovan ambassador to the United States told the French newspaper L’Illustré. The Russians, however, occupy “the highest positions in the administration and constitute the military and economic elite,” the ambassador said. Transnistria has its own capital and uses its own currency. Russian is its official language. Cobasna, a village in the region, houses a former Soviet (now Russian) ammunition depot that is the largest in Eastern Europe. According to Moldova’s ambassador to the United Nations, the depot contains more than 20,000 metric tons of Russian ammunition.
What is the region’s relationship with Russia?
Although Transnistria is internationally recognized as part of Moldova, it has been controlled by pro-Russian separatist authorities since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990. Russian forces have been stationed there since 1992, following the signing of a ceasefire between Moldova and Transnistria after a brief border crossing. up to 700 people were killed. The Kremlin is backing the Transnistrian economy by providing free gas to local industries and paying seniors a “Putin pension” totaling $ 8 a month. In return, Russia keeps troops permanently stationed there, in what the Kremlin describes as “peaceful.” The Russian state media, which is widely available in the region, has also played an important role in fostering pro-Russian sentiment. The story goes on In Moldova, as in other countries, Russia has used its energy supply to exploit dependencies and push for Kremlin-friendly policies, Dorina Baltag, a postdoctoral researcher at the Interdisciplinary Institute and International Institute, told Yahoo News. . “Last year, in October 2021, the Moldovan government was forced to declare a state of emergency after a gas contract with Russian gas company Gazprom expired this year, and a new contract offered by Gazprom included a threefold price increase. “The Moldovan government was not able to pay,” Baltag said. “The agreement with Russia, a good agreement reached by the Moldovan government, exposes Moldova’s greatest vulnerability. “So for Moldova, energy security is probably the main component of national security.”
What has happened to Transnistria since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24?
A Transnistrian soldier walks past a line of cars waiting to leave the self-proclaimed Transnistrian Republic of Moldova at the Varnita-Moldova border on April 28. (Daniel Mihailescu / AFP via Getty Images) According to L’Illustré, foreign journalists have been banned from the territory since the beginning of the Russian invasion. Six weeks after the Russian war, authorities in the region reported an attack on a military unit just hours after two radio bombers blew themselves up. Moldovan President Maya Santou has blamed separatist groups for the attacks and said her government would resist “attempts to lure Moldova into actions that could jeopardize peace in the country”. No injuries were reported, but separatist authorities increased the level of terrorist threat in the area. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of trying to destabilize Moldova, sarcastically comparing the rationale for the attacks with what the Kremlin claimed was the reason for the invasion of Ukraine. “It’s supposed that the rights of Russian-speakers are being violated there in Moldova,” Zelensky said in a speech to the nation last Friday. “Although, to be honest, the territory in which Russia must take care of the rights of Russian-speakers is Russia itself: Where there is no freedom of speech, freedom of choice. Where there is simply no right to disagree. Where poverty thrives and where human life is useless “.
Is the war going to expand in Moldova?
Baltag said that Moldova’s vulnerable position is Transnistria and that the situation depends on the outcome of the war in Ukraine. “The war in Ukraine highlights two of the main challenges that Moldova has to face: its dependence on Russian gas and the breakaway region of Transnistria, which is backed by the Russian Federation,” he said.
