Russia warns NATO, Ukraine once morest “adventurous steps” in breakaway Moldova region
Russia maintains its verbal war with Ukraine and NATO over the fate of Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova where some 1,500 Russian troops are stationed.
On Friday, the Moscow Foreign Ministry warned NATO and Ukraine once morest “adventurous steps” in Transnistria.
“In connection with the significant accumulation of military personnel and equipment of Ukrainian units near the Ukrainian-Transnistrian border, recorded by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the deployment of artillery at firing positions, as well as the uncontrolled increase precedents of the drone flights of the Armed Forces of Ukraine over the territory of Transnistria, we warn the United States, the NATO member countries and their Ukrainian protégés of the next adventurous steps,” the statement read.
Ukrainian authorities have yet to respond to the latest Russian claims.
Ukraine has recently accused Russia of plotting to destabilize Moldova. On February 13, Moldovan President Maia Sandu accused Russia of planning to use “saboteurs who have undergone military training and disguise themselves as civilians” to destabilize the country, echoing a claim made days earlier by the president. from Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.
“President Zelensky’s statements regarding the plans of the Russian Federation to destabilize the Republic of Moldova have been confirmed by our institutions,” he declared.
The Russian Foreign Ministry declared on Friday that Russia “systematically advocates the solution of any issue by political and diplomatic means.”
However, he added that “no one should have any doubt that the Russian Armed Forces will respond adequately to the provocation of the Kyiv regime, if it occurs, and will guarantee the protection of their compatriots, the Russian peacekeeping contingent, military personnel of the Operational Group of Forces of the Russian Federation and of the military depots in Colbasna, in Transnistria”.
“Any action that poses a threat to its security will be considered, in accordance with international law, as an attack on the Russian Federation,” the statement added.
Late on Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that “the kyiv regime has intensified its efforts to prepare for an invasion of the Transnistrian Moldavian Republic.”
A prominent Russian military blogger, who goes by the name of WarGonzo, stated that “since we have no direct ground supply to Transnistria, and the hostile Moldovan government will certainly not allow our air force to take to the skies, the Russian garrison in Transnistria is now probably in the most vulnerable position, compared to the position on other fronts.”
Last weekend, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington was “deeply concerned regarding some of the plots that we’ve seen coming from Russia to try to destabilize the government.” [moldavo]”, in a meeting with President Sandu in Munich.
“We stand firmly with Moldova in support of its security, its independence, its territorial integrity and the important reform efforts that the president and the government are carrying out,” Blinken said.
