Transnistria, the controversial breakaway region of Moldova that Putin is trying to drag into the war

The commander-in-chief of Ukraine has denounced this Friday that two Russian missiles launched, supposedly, from Transnistria, have crossed the airspace of Moldova and Romania, which are part of NATO, before entering Ukraine. The separatist region that achieved its independence from the Moldovans in 1991 is again in danger due to Putin’s intention to make it enter the war. Why is the Russian president determined to open that front? Why does he have soldiers there if that piece of land is supposedly independent from Moldova? The truth is that Putin is still committed to the objective that he already pointed out a year ago: to protect citizens “from the abuses and genocide” of his Ukrainian counterpart Volodimir Zelenski. There are many analysts who defend that this war is part of a military and geopolitical conflict that has its origin in the dismemberment of the USSR. This is how Putin recognized it a few months ago: «Ukraine was an invention of the Bolsheviks. Lenin and his associates committed a historical crime by dividing up a territory that belonged to the Russian Empire ». But where does Transnistria fit into this puzzle? It all begins, as we have pointed out, with the fall of the Soviet Union, at which time many ethnic minorities were trapped in new countries that they did not feel were theirs. That provoked wars of independence that are still ongoing. Standard Related News No Ukraine denounces that two Russian missiles have crossed NATO airspace before hitting its territory ABC Both would have passed through Moldova and Romania, a member country of the Alliance, before reaching their objective In fact, Transnistria is one of the six independent states of the post-Soviet space that do not have international recognition. The other five are Artsakh, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Donetsk and Lugansk. And five of these, including the one at hand, have been supported by Russia by supplying weapons or directly intervening with its troops in favor of the independentistas. That turned these areas into satellite governments in the hands of the Kremlin. The most forgotten Transnistria is, perhaps, the most forgotten of all of them, although in recent years its role has grown. It is a 4,000-kilometer strip located between the Dniester River and Ukraine, which declared itself independent of Moldova on September 3, 1990. The path was not easy, as it had to ask Russia for help and was not recognized by any member of The United Nations. And, moreover, it was followed later, in 1992, by a civil war between Moldovan troops and separatist forces that ended with a peace agreement for the deployment of Russian ‘peace troops’. Units of the Russian 14th Army Corps have been stationed there ever since, with around 2,000 soldiers commanding an old Soviet military warehouse that holds 20,000 tons of ammunition and military equipment from former Soviet stocks. At the same time, a kind of bubble was formed in which around 500,000 Transnistrians live with their own government, army, currency and passport, which became part of that group of regions in the post-Soviet region that live under continuous threat of conflict. Before its independence, Transnistria was the most prosperous area of ​​the Soviet Republic of Moldova and its standard of living was twice as high as that of the entire country, due to the fact that it supplied electricity to the entire territory and generated approximately 40% of the Moldovan GDP. The political elites came from there and the former Soviet troops were garrisoned there. Now, however, its survival depends to a large extent on the Kremlin, since it is Putin’s government that pays the pensioners and civil servants and that supplies the gas. Referendum In 2006, 97% of the population voted in favor of independence and integration into Russia in a referendum whose results have not yet been consummated. And the conflict is still open. «Strange explosions of still unknown origin in Transnistria, a secessionist region of Moldova squeezed between the Dniester River and the border with Ukraine, the bombardment of a bridge in the Odessa region, at the very mouth of the Dniester River, and the statements of the head of The Donetsk separatists, Denis Pushilin, calling to launch from Transnistria “the next stage of the special military operation in Ukraine” suggest, in Kiev’s opinion, that there is a plan to open a new front against Ukraine to the west of Odessa,” he said. ABC in April. Russia has already shown its concern about what was happening in the Moldovan secessionist enclave. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, declared that “the news coming from Transnistria causes concern”, although, when asked if Putin intended to contact his Moldovan counterpart, Maia Sandu, to analyze the situation, he replied that “no for now”. “The only thing I can say is that we are closely monitoring the situation,” he said. In Ukraine they were already convinced that behind several attacks that also took place from there, ten months ago, was Russia with the aim of “destabilizing” the area and dragging it into war. “Russia wants to destabilize the Transnistrian region, which suggests that Moldova should prepare to receive unwanted guests,” said Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podoliak. As explained by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (SNBO), “there are three reasons that explain the cause of Russia’s provocations in Transnistria: the opening of an additional front in the Odessa region, giving one more justification for the war as a way to defend their own in Moldova and divert attention from the genocide. THE SNBO considered that the opening of another front “will force the Ukrainian troops to transfer units there, weakening the defense of Mykolaiv.” Anti-Russian project The conflict around Transnistria has continued to this day. Just six days ago, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, added fuel to the fire again by stating on Russian television that Moldova is the new “anti-Russian project” of the West, because “it has its eye on the Republic of Moldova”. . He further said that Sandu was elected “less democratically” and that she was “willing to do anything” to get closer to the West. And it is that the more or less direct threats from the Kremlin against the Republic of Moldova have intensified since the war against Ukraine began. In support of his interest in Transnistria, Lavrov also accused Sandu of leading an anti-Russian policy during an interview for his state television: “Moldova is one of the countries that the West wants to turn against Russia.” He also charged the Moldovan president for, according to what she said, being in favor of her country’s unification with Romania and campaigning for NATO membership.