Meanwhile, Ukraine accused Moscow on Tuesday of trying to drag Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria into its war on Kyiv after authorities in the Moscow-backed region said they had been targeted by a series of attacks.

The interior ministry of the unrecognized region that borders southwestern Ukraine said in a statement that several drones had been detected flying over the village of Cobasna overnight and they had been launched from Ukraine.

It said shots were later fired on Wednesday morning toward the border village from Ukrainian territory. It gave no further details but said nobody had been hurt.

Russia has a contingent of troops in Transnistria guarding many tons of ammunition stored in the region since before the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. Moscow also has peacekeepers there after a conflict between separatist and Moldovan forces.

Transnistria's interior ministry cited "experts" as saying that Cobasna holds the biggest ammunition depot in Europe.

Moldova's government and Ukraine's defense ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment about the statement from Transnistria's interior ministry.

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