By Alejandro Tanas
CHISINAU (Reuters) – Moldova’s president said a series of attacks in the Russian-backed breakaway region of Transdniestria on Tuesday were an attempt by factions inside the territory to escalate tensions, with the Kremlin expressing serious concern.
She spoke after Moldova’s Security Council held an urgent meeting sparked by two explosions that damaged masts transmitting Russian radio in the region, where authorities said a military unit was also targeted.
Moldovan authorities are sensitive to any signs of worsening security in Transdniestria, an unrecognized Moscow-backed swath of land that borders southwestern Ukraine, especially since Russia invaded Ukraine.
“From the information we have at the moment, these escalation attempts come from factions within the Transnistria region that are in favor of war and are interested in destabilizing the situation in the region,” President Maia Saudu told a conference. of press.
She said the security council had recommended improving the combat readiness of security forces, increasing the number of patrols and checkpoints near Moldova’s border with Transdniestria, and monitoring critical infrastructure more closely.
Russia has had troops permanently based in Transdniestria since the collapse of the Soviet Union. kyiv fears the region could be used as a launching pad for new attacks on Ukraine.
“In the early morning of April 26, two explosions occurred in the village of Maiac, Grigoriopol district: the first at 06:40 and the second at 07:05,” the Transdniestrian Interior Ministry said.
No residents were injured, but two radio masts transmitting in Russian were damaged, he said.
Separately, the Transdniestrian Security Council reported a “terrorist attack” on a military unit near the city of Tiraspol, the Russian news agency TASS reported.
He did not give more details.
THE KREMLIN EXPRESSES 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 Transdniestria.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the news was a cause for great concern and that Moscow was closely following developments.
Later on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow wanted to avoid a scenario where it would have to intervene in Transdniestria, the RIA news agency reported.
Moldova’s Sandu described the situation as “complex and tense” but said he had no plans to hold direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the matter.
Tuesday’s incidents followed a series of explosions reported Monday by local television at the Transdniestrian State Security Ministry in the regional capital Tiraspol. Local officials said unknown assailants had fired at the building with grenade launchers.
The office of the unrecognized president of Transdniestria has ordered the terror threat level to be raised to red and said checkpoints will be set up at the entrances to cities in the region. All vehicles entering at night will be searched, he said.
(written by Tom Balmforth and Alessandra Prentice, edited by Timothy Heritage and Angus MacSwan)
Reference-news.yahoo.com