On Monday afternoon, explosions erupted at a security agency building in Tiraspol, capital of Transnistria, a small pro-Russian and separatist republic on the Moldova-Ukraine border. The local government said it was likely a grenade launcher attack and no casualties or people were involved. According to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, the attack was carried out by Russian forces to create a pretext and invade Ukraine from the west. In fact, Tiraspol is about a hundred kilometers from Odessa, Ukraine’s main port city, which until a few weeks ago was one of the main targets of the Russian army.
The images of the destroyed building circulating on social networks, which have not yet been verified, do not show any serious structural damage, but the news of the explosions was highly commented on, as many Moldova believe, also due to the situation in Transnistria, that the next one could be . military target of Russia.
Last Friday, Russian General Rustam Minnekayev made some statements about Russia’s plans in the coming weeks: to fully occupy Donbass and all of southern Ukraine, including the port city of Odessa.
Minnekayev had also spoken of Transnistria, specifically citing the possibility of seizing the territories currently controlled by Ukraine and bordering Transnistria, where he said there was “evidence that the Russian-speaking population is being persecuted,” information similar to other pretexts that Russia has used it in the past to justify its own aggressive foreign policy or open military attacks.
Meanwhile, Russian attacks in Ukraine continued in various regions, including Zaporizhia and Mykolaiv, hitting civilian targets. Not many details are available about the aftermath of Sunday and Monday’s bomb attacks on five train stations and railway lines in central and western Ukraine. Railways are vital for moving humanitarian aid and military supplies across the country, especially through the Lviv region, where one of the attacks took place.
A 91-year-old refugee is transported on a train to Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region (AP Photo / Leo Correa)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Moscow today to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Guterres will pay a similar visit to Kyiv on Thursday to mediate between the two sides. In an interview with the Associated Press news agency, Ukraine’s foreign minister said he feared Guterres in Moscow could fall into a “trap” set up by the Russian government.
Guterres’ visit will not be the only major visit planned today. Representatives from forty countries are expected to meet at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany to discuss how to further increase military aid to Ukraine. The talks will be led by the United States and will be attended by several NATO members.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said ahead of the meeting and as he commented on the $713 million US military aid package that the continued supply of arms to Ukraine means that “NATO is essentially engaged in a war against Russia is involved”. and that the danger of a nuclear conflict “should not be underestimated”.