Towards a new front in the war between Russia and Ukraine? The Russian army accused Ukraine, Thursday, February 23, of preparing a “invasion” of Transnistria, a pro-Russian separatist territory of Moldova where a Russian military contingent is deployed. “The kyiv regime has intensified preparations for an invasion of Transnistria”said the Russian Ministry of Defense on Telegram: it will be triggered “in response to an alleged attack by Russian troops from the territory of Transnistria”.
The Russian army assured to observe a “large accumulation of Ukrainian military personnel and equipment near the border”THE “deployment of artillery on firing positions” and an “unprecedented increase in Ukrainian drone flights over the territory” of the separatist republic.
“The implementation of the planned provocation by the Ukrainian authorities poses a direct threat to the Russian contingent” present in Transnistria, the ministry said again. The Russian Army “will respond adequately to the provocation planned by Ukraine”he added.
“We call for calm”
A small strip of land that seceded from Moldova in the 1990s after a short war, Transnistria is located on the western border of Ukraine and has been the subject of heightened tensions in recent weeks.
The Moldovan government said on its channel on the Telegram app on Thursday that “State authorities did not confirm the information published this morning by the Russian Defense Ministry”.
“We call for calm and for information to be obtained from official and reliable sources in the Republic of Moldova.”
The new Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean had recently called for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria, angering the Kremlin. “I would recommend to our Moldovan counterparts to be extremely careful” about their statements, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned on Monday.
“War is at our doorstep”: in Moldova, the fear of being Putin’s next target
The pro-European Moldovan authorities had previously accused Moscow of wanting to foment a coup in Moldova, allegations denied on the Russian side. Since the start of its offensive in Ukraine a year ago, Russia has been accused of raising the threat of further clashes in Transnistria to destabilize Kyiv and Chisinau.
