For the second day in a row, explosions have been heard in unrecognized Transnistria, and no one is taking responsibility for them.

The President of Moldova convened a meeting of the country’s Security Council, the so-called Transnistrian authorities announced terrorist attacks.

Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia two months ago, calls what is happening a provocation. Transnistria was mentioned earlier by a Russian general, reflecting on the further development of the Russian invasion.

The day before, explosions erupted in Tiraspol, the capital of a separatist region in Moldova. And on Tuesday morning, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the unrecognized republic announced the detonation of two huge radio antennas. Photos confirm this.

Antennas have been used so far to retransmit Russian radio stations, according to a statement from the Interior Ministry.

“On the morning of April 26, two explosions took place in the village of Mayak, Hryhoriopol district: the first at 6:40, the second at 7:05,” the message said on Twitter. “The two most powerful antennas have been shut down: one – megawatt, the other – half-megawatt. Both relayed the radio of the Russian Federation,” – said in a statement on the website of the agency.

The Transnistrian Interior Ministry did not put forward versions of who could have carried out the bombing. Another tweet contains only historical information: “PRTC is the Transnistrian Radio and Television Center. It is one of 14 radio stations in the former Soviet Union. The signal from the PRTC can be retransmitted in the United States, the Middle East and Latin America.

There were no versions the day before, when the explosions took place in the center of Tiraspol. An Interfax correspondent reported that the premises of the Transnistrian Ministry of State Security were damaged. According to him, the shooting was carried out with grenade launchers RPG-27 or RPG-22. There were no victims either the day before or now, according to the Transnistrian Interior Ministry.

The reintegration bureau of the Moldovan government expressed concern over the explosions in Tiraspol the day before. “According to available information, unknown people fired grenade launchers at the headquarters of the security agency in the region. According to preliminary data, there are no casualties,” the statement said. not controlled by the constitutional authorities. ”

The reaction to the morning explosions on the territory of the radio and television center was even harsher.

Moldovan President Maya Sandu convened a meeting of the High Security Council, and Moldova’s Information and Security Service (NIB) addressed citizens. “We urge society to calm down and refrain from disseminating information from unverified sources, which in particular incites hatred and war. Given the complexity of the situation, we are counting on responsibility and critical thinking,” the NIB said in a statement.

On Tuesday afternoon, she held a briefing and blamed “explosive forces” inside Transnistria for the bombings.

“Our analysis has shown that there are tensions between various forces within the region interested in destabilizing the situation,” she said (quoting Sputnik Moldova). .

Commenting on the explosions in Tiraspol, Kyiv accused Moscow of provocation.

“Obviously, this case is one of a series of provocative measures organized by the FSB to incite panic and anti-Ukrainian sentiment. According to the authors, they should justify the war in Ukraine or involve Transnistria in hostilities – as a territory with a mobilization reserve, or as a territory from which Russian troops can carry out attacks on Ukrainian territory “, – said in a press release of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

The leader of unrecognized Transnistria, Vadym Krasnoselsky, also convened a meeting of his Security Council, where they decided to introduce a “red” level of terrorist threat, Interfax reports. The TASS news agency reports that the Transnistrian Security Council has confirmed three “terrorist attacks” instead of two. Another attack was on a military unit near Tiraspol, Krasnoselsky’s press service said.

An anonymous source from Interfax in Tiraspol claims that there were two more explosions on Monday – in the territory of the “air park of the Ministry of Defense” of Transnistria (no casualties and destruction). The shelling of the MGB building, according to his version, was allegedly staged by “three unidentified persons who entered from the territory of Ukraine outside the checkpoints.”

After the explosions, the Transnistrian authorities canceled the victory parade on May 9.

The Kremlin is closely monitoring the aggravation of the situation in Transnistria, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Journalists asked him if Russian President Vladimir Putin planned to contact Sandu.

“No, no contacts are planned at the moment, there are no such plans. The only thing I can say is that we are watching very closely how the situation is developing there. Of course, news is coming from there, which is worrying,” Peskov said.

Sandu also said she had no plans to negotiate with Putin.

The aggravation of the situation in separatist Transnistria took place against the background of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has been going on for two months.

Last week, Rustam Minnekayev, deputy commander of the Russian Central Military District, said that “since the beginning of the second phase of the special operation, one of the tasks of the Russian army has been to establish full control over Donbass and southern Ukraine.”

“Control over the south of Ukraine is another way out of Transnistria, where the facts of oppression of the Russian-speaking population are also emphasized,” General Minnekayev said for some reason.

Since then, it has remained unclear whether his words can be considered the official position of Russia’s Defense Ministry. The Defense Ministry did not comment on the issue.

Ukraine and Moldovan politicians have long feared that the war could affect Transnistria and Moldova in general.

Russia’s ambassador to Chisinau, Oleg Vasnetsov, was summoned to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry on Friday to express his deep concern over “statements by the Russian military leader” that contradict “the Russian Federation’s position on upholding sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

On Monday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko effectively disavowed General Minnekayev’s words, telling reporters that Russia was “in favor of a peaceful settlement of the Transnistrian problem with respect for Moldova’s territorial integrity and the special status of the region.”

“We do not see any risks,” he said.

The situation in the Russian parliament is assessed differently. “What is happening in Transnistria is a provocation aimed at dragging Russia deeper into hostilities in the region,” Leonid Kalashnikov, chairman of the State Duma’s CIS Committee, told Interfax on Tuesday, commenting on the explosions at the radio and television center.

A 1,500-strong Russian military contingent has been stationed in Transnistria and has been stationed in the region since 1995 under a ceasefire agreement.

On April 17, the Ukrainian General Staff stated that in this separatist region of Moldova, Russian specialists allegedly checked the combat effectiveness of certain motorized infantry brigades of the army of the unrecognized republic.

They are not ready for hostilities, the Ukrainian military said.

On Tuesday, the Western Military District of the Russian Armed Forces announced that a task force of Russian troops in Transnistria had repaired weapons and military equipment and put them into summer operation.

BBC correspondent Ilya Barabanov on relations between Moldova and separatist Transnistria

After two days of explosions in Transnistria, the situation in this self-proclaimed republic has become very reminiscent of what happened in Donbass on the eve of February 24.

On April 22, the deputy commander of the Central Military District, Major General Rustam Minnekanov, said that the Russian army intended to obtain a land corridor in Transnistria as a result of the “second phase of the special operation”, where Russian-speaking people were allegedly oppressed.

Who can oppress him there remains an open question. For almost 30 years, the territory of Transnistria – a narrow strip of land on the left bank of the Dniester – has lived quite autonomously from Moldova, and even more so from Ukraine.

The last fighting there was in August 1992, and Transnistrians coexisted peacefully with all their neighbors and traveled without problems, for example, to Moldova for work.

When pro-Russian President Igor Dodon changed pro-European forces in Chisinau for a while, he met with Transnistrian counterpart Vadim Krasnoselsky several times and the parties even agreed to open new checkpoints on the Dniester.

In Chisinau, no political force has seriously considered the return of Transnistria by military means for the past 30 years, as stated by incumbent President Maya Sandu.

Unlike Ukraine, Moldova has not reorganized and rearmed its armed forces, and it has long been a popular joke among Moldovan politicians that the most capable part of the country’s army is a military band.

The first weeks of the new war in Chisinau were taken very nervously, and many in Moldovan society feared that if Putin succeeded rapidly, the Russian army might occupy Moldova as well.

The Russian army did not achieve rapid success, the troops were embroiled in positional battles in eastern Ukraine. Against this background, it should be noted that the Transnistrian authorities, although organizing alarming meetings of the Security Council and introducing a “red” level of terrorist threat on the territory of the republic, do not make specific accusations of shelling Chisinau or Kyiv.

The situation looks as if Moscow wants to create another center of tension in the post-Soviet space, but the Transnistrian authorities have not yet explained the main condition: if this republic is involved in the war, where can its troops go? To the west, towards Chisinau, or to the east, towards Odessa?

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