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Transnistria says shots fired from Ukraine toward village
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M
oldova's pro-Russian breakaway region of Transnistria said on Wednesday that shots were fired from Ukraine toward a village that houses an ammunition depot, the latest report to raise concern that Russia's war in Ukraine might expand.
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.
The Moscow-backed region said it had been targeted by a series of attacks and accused Ukraine of involvement. Kyiv blamed Moscow for masterminding the attacks that included explosions that damaged two radio masts.
The Kremlin said it was seriously concerned by the developments.
Under attack
Authorities in Transnistria, an unrecognized sliver of land bordering southwestern Ukraine, said that explosions had damaged two radio masts that broadcast in Russian and that one of its military units had been attacked.
It provided few details, but blamed Ukraine, raising its "terrorist" threat level to red and introducing checkpoints around its towns.
"The traces of these attacks lead to Ukraine", Russian news agency TASS quoted Vadim Krasnoselsky, the self-styled president of Transnistria, as saying. "I assume that those who organized this attack have the purpose of dragging Transnistria into the conflict."
Reuters could not independently verify the accounts of the attacks.
Ukraine fears the region could be used as a launchpad for new attacks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed Moscow, saying Russia was showing Moldova what to expect if it continued to support Kyiv.
"We have seen that another step is being planned by the Russian Federation ... it is clear why, really, to destabilize the situation in the region," he told a news conference with the visiting head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Ukraine "condemns the desperate attempts to draw the Transnistrian region of Moldova into the full-scale war against Ukraine," the foreign ministry said earlier.
It noted that the incidents followed recent comments from Russia about extending its reach in the region.
Moldova, which is sensitive to any sign of worsening security in the enclave, called an emergency security council meeting after the reports.
"From the information we have at this moment, these escalation attempts stem from factions within the Transnistrian region that are pro-war forces and interested in destabilizing the situation in the region," Moldovan President Maia Sandu told a news conference.
She said the Moldovan security council had recommended stepping up the combat readiness of forces, increasing the number of patrols and checks near its border with Transnistria and monitoring critical infrastructure more closely.
Russia has had troops permanently based in Transnistria since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Kremlin concern
Last week, a senior Russian military official said the second phase of what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine included a plan to take full control of southern Ukraine and improve its access to Transnistria.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Moscow was following events in Transnistria closely.
Later on Tuesday, the Russian foreign ministry said that Moscow wanted to avoid a scenario in which it had to intervene in Transnistria, the RIA news agency reported.
Sandu described the situation as "complex and tense," but said she had no plans to hold direct talks about it with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Washington was looking at the cause of recent violence in Transnistria, United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
"Not really sure what that's all about, but it's something that we will stay focused on," Austin said.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged "all concerned to refrain from any statements or actions that could escalate tensions" in the region, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said.
