Fears that the tiny former Soviet republic of Moldova could be sucked into the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine are mounting after several explosions in the breakaway Moscow-backed region of Transnistria.
The mysterious blasts, which targeted the state security ministry, a radio tower and military unit, happened days after a senior Russian commander claimed Russian speakers in Moldova were being oppressed – the same argument used by Russia to justify its invasion of Ukraine.
Rustam Minnekayev, the deputy commander of Russia’s central military district, said gaining control over southern Ukraine would help Russia link up with Transnistria, which lies just across the border from the Black Sea port of Odesa.
Where is Transnistria and what is its status?
The predominantly Russian-speaking region wedged between the Dniester River and the Ukraine border seceded from Moldova after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In 1992, the separatists fought a war with Moldova’s pro-western government, which ended in hundreds of deaths and the intervention of the Russian army on the rebels’ side.
In a 2006 referendum that was not recognised by the international community, 97.1% of voters backed joining Russia, dealing a blow to Moldova’s hopes of following Romania and other ex-communist eastern European states into the EU.
Transnistria is controlled by pro-Russian separatists and permanently hosts 1,500 Russian troops as well as a large arms depot.
How closely tied are Transnistria and Russia?
Transnistria still uses the Cyrillic alphabet and has its own currency (the Transnistrian ruble), security forces and passport, although most of its estimated 465,000 residents have dual or triple Moldovan, Russian or Ukrainian nationality.
The majority of the population is Russian-speaking, while the rest of Moldova is dominated by Romanian speakers.
Moscow props up Transnistria’s economy, supplying free gas and keeping troops stationed there, in effect creating a Russian satellite on the borders of the EU.
Transnistria is also awash with Soviet symbols.
Its flag is emblazoned with a hammer and sickle, a huge statue of Lenin looms over the centre of its main city, Tiraspol, and a bust of the Bolshevik leader sits outside the town hall, or House of Soviets.
What does Russia say?
Russian president Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, on Tuesday told journalists that he was “concerned” about the news that came out of Transnistria, while the leader of the self-proclaimed republic in Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, told RIA Novosti that Moscow should “take into account what is happening in Transnistria” when planning the next stage of its military campaign.
What does Moldova say?
Moldova’s president, Maia Sandu, has made clear her opposition to Transnistria’s secession.
She wants Russian troops stationed along Transnistria’s frontier with Moldova to be replaced with an observer mission from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a proposal rejected by Moscow.
After a meeting of her security council this week, Sandu said certain unnamed “forces inside Transnistria” were in “favour of war” and were interested in destabilising the situation in the region.
With AFP
