War in Ukraine – Moldova trembles, in fear of a Russian offensive

– Moldova trembles, in fear of a Russian offensive

Will the repeated explosions in the separatist region of Transnistria be used as a pretext? Ukraine’s small neighbor now fears being drawn into the war.

Posted today at 8:02 p.m.

The headquarters of Russian troops in Tiraspol, capital of the separatist region of Transnistria in eastern Moldova. Moscow maintains 1500 soldiers in the small self-proclaimed republic.

AFP

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After Ukraine, Moldova? Explosions in the pro-Russian separatist region of Transnistria raise fears of a military intervention by Moscow to “rescue” the Russian-speaking populations. An air of déjà vu, after the outbreak on February 24 of the so-called “special military operation” of Vladimir Putin. Like Ukraine, Moldova has pro-European leaders, but the country is not a member of NATO. And as in the Donbass, the Kremlin supports separatist forces there, supporting troops.

Transnistria is an autonomous region of Moldova wedged between the Dniester River and the Ukrainian border. Pro-Russian separatists declared an autonomous republic there in the early 1990s with backing from Moscow, which maintains 1,500 Russian troops and vast Soviet-era arms depots there. This mini-state that no capital has recognized (not even the Kremlin) controls a territory as large as Vaud and Neuchâtel combined and a population comparable to that of the canton of Geneva. According to the separatist authorities, a referendum in 2006 received 97.1% of votes in favor of joining Russia.

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