On the border between Moldova and Transnistria, Moldovan reserve colonel Gennady Kosovan is no longer surprised to see Russian tanks on a bridge across the river. “This is an armored personnel carrier of the Russian army, the so-called peacekeeper,” the colonel explains. won’t be too close,” he said.
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Transnistria is a long strip of land with 500,000 inhabitants and 4,000 km2 sandwiched between Ukraine and Moldova. Like the Donbass in Ukraine, Transnistria is a self-proclaimed separatist republic.
Thus, for thirty years, Russian troops have been in this territory, which is now of strategic interest, since Russian people and equipment are located on this strip of land near Odessa. Moldova has not recorded any movement of troops at the moment, but remains vigilant.
They are “peacekeepers,” Gennady Kosovan said ironically about the name given to Russian soldiers. The latter are in the forefront of the agreement with the Moldovans on the protection of the border. At the end of the straight road, the self-proclaimed Transnistrian Republic with its own reservists, its own army and 3,200 Russian soldiers. “They have armored vehicles, four combat helicopters. The Russian military also has a warehouse where 22,000 tons of ammunition are stored,” explains Colonel Kosovan of the reserve.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Transnistria returned stocks of Soviet weapons. The weapons are not in good condition, the Moldovan deputy minister in charge of negotiations with Transnistria wants to reassure. Colonel Kosovan has a different view.
“Kalashnikovs are old, but still modern and in working order. They are used in theaters of war around the world.”
Gennady Cosovan, colonel in the Moldovan reserve
on Franceinfo
According to him, this territory was also used to train 200 to 300 Wagner militiamen. “These Wagner units were used to recruit mercenaries in Moldova, Transnistria and even Ukraine. Then they were sent to Syria or to Donetsk and Luhansk,” the colonel says.
Can these Russian and Transnistrian troops be used in a conflict with Ukraine? “The forces available here can be used to attack Odessa,” the colonel replies, recalling the Ukrainian port city, where everything is calm so far. The deceptive silence worries Gennady Kosovan, who fears an imminent Russian attack.
Reporting in Transnistria by Matilda Dehimi and Paul Kozigyan
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