Today at 14:04
Photo from BalkanInsight
Top Moldovan officials have condemned Russian military exercises which crossed over the Dniester river, the so-called border between Moldova and Transnistria.
Transnistria broke away from Moldova in 1991-1992 in a conflict that left 1,000 dead and 1,500 wounded. Some 1,500 regular Russian troops and 400 peacekeepers have been stationed there ever since.
Moldovan Defence Minister Eugen Sturza said Russia’s latest military drills with unmarked vehicles are “provocative actions.” Russia banned Moldovan officials and OSCE observers from inspecting the military equipment.
The Russian units began their joint military games with local separatist troops on Wednesday.
Military expert Rosian Vasiloi told the Balkan Investigative Reporting that he believes the maneuvers are a way for Russia to flex its muscle in the region, not only to deter Moldova, but also Ukraine.
“Let’s not forget what OGR’s (Operative Group of Russian Troops) basic task is: to intervene in the event of a change in the political and military situation in the region and also to watch and guard the strait Bosphorus. That is why Russia also made an excessive militarization of the annexed Crimea in the past few years,” Vasiloi said.
According to the Moldovan delegation, Russian and local Transnistrian troops deployed amphibious armored fighting vehicles and military trucks in the area of the Tirnauca beach, Slobozia district, and near the pedestrian bridge over the Dniester River in Tirnauca, in the vicinity of the separatist capital Tiraspol.
