After the re-election of Vladimir Putin, will Transnistria become a Kremlin objective? Tension is rising in this pro-Russian separatist region of Moldova which claimed, this Sunday, March 17, that an explosive drone sent from Ukraine had struck a military base in its capital, accusations rejected by the Moldovan authorities. For its part, kyiv accused Moscow of having “carried out a provocation in Transnistria with a kamikaze drone attack”.
“An explosion caused a fire on the territory of a military base in Tiraspol. Preliminary (findings) established that the explosion was caused by a kamikaze drone attack,” said the Ministry of State Security of the self-proclaimed republic, cited by Russian and local media. According to this source, the device came from the Ukrainian region of Odessa. Transnistrian public television published a surveillance video on its Telegram account showing a projectile hitting a military helicopter which exploded and caught fire in the process.
Moldova has rejected these accusations
Moldova, for its part, rejected these accusations. “The authorities in Chisinau, in contact with the Ukrainian side, do not confirm any attack on the Transnistria region,” assures the government in a press release. According to the authorities, these accusations are part of an “attempt to provoke fear and panic”.
For its part, the Ukrainian Security Council accused Russia of having “carried out a provocation in Transnistria with a kamikaze drone attack against a military unit”, accusing it of wanting to provoke “an escalation” in the region.
Since the 1990s, Russia has supported this separatist territory of Moldova, a pro-European and Romanian-speaking country in the former USSR, bordering Ukraine. Russia regularly claims that Moldova and Ukraine are preparing provocations or attacks there. At the end of February, the Transnistrian authorities asked Moscow for “protective measures” in the face of “increased pressure”, according to them, from the Moldovans.
Near Odessa
The separatist region neighbors the Ukrainian region of Odessa, which Moscow’s forces failed to conquer when they invaded Ukraine in February 2024. Russian officials regularly reaffirm the ambition to take this port city.
A narrow strip of land between Moldova and Ukraine, Transnistria seceded after a short war in 1992 against the Moldovan army. Russia still maintains 1,500 soldiers there, according to official figures, intended in particular to carry out a peacekeeping mission.