Given that the Russian Federation has lost even more than a thousand men a day in the recent offensives in the Zaporizhia Oblast, it cannot seriously be assumed that fewer than 6,000 mixed forces could stand up to the Ukrainian forces. Mainly for the territorial formation of the small independent territory of his ally
There Moldova is small, but not exactly tiny: with its 32,000 square kilometers it is about the sameEmilia Romagna and at Brands month together. However only 2.6 million inhabitantsless than the city Rome. Of the latter, less than a fifth live in the self-proclaimed Moldovan Republic of Pridniestrovbetter known as Transnistriaan area slightly larger than the province sienna in the form of a very narrow strip 200 kilometers long and at most 20 kilometers wide along the east bank of the river nistro. Neither Moldova nor least of all Transnistria has any connections to the sea, while the former is surrounded by Romania (so off Born) and fromUkraine, the second stretches along the Ukrainian border. The territory of Transnistria hosts on its territory, as well as a modest department of Russian helicopterstwo contingents of troops Fly: one of 400 soldiers is unfolded in one demilitarized zone as part of a 1992 deal; another, about thousand soldiers, has the task of monitoring Weapons and ammunition stores from the Soviet era, left by the Russian 14th Army commanded by the General over thirty years ago Alexander Lebed. Recognized only by Moscow and its allies, this republic is not short of its own armed forces: we’re talking about 4,500 to 5,500 soldiers on active duty, plus at least 15,000 reservists. The equipment They are modest: the estimated prices include 18 wagons T-62a combat helicopter Mil Mi-2415 infantry fighting vehicles BMP-1 And BMP-2 and about seventy armored fighting vehicles “made in USSR”. The trucks Ural-375, GAZ-66 And Sil-131 form the logistical backbone: it is a pity that their production has been discontinued for decades and they have not already formed Brezhnev, when they came on the market, models of reliability. A small one is not missing local war industry producer of 122mm rocket launcher And reconnaissance drones.
The last joint exercise of the Transnistrian armed forces with the Russian dates back to January 2022, a month before the start of the war: Russian soldiers, stationed east of the Dniester, conducted simulations at their firing range in Transnistria against “targets simulating the advance of infantry and enemy military equipment. The military tried maneuverassumption firing positions And makeshift disguisespaying special attention to the Destruction of small targets far away,” the local defense ministry said in a statement at the time, which also included the deployment of Russian troops AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher in Soviet design. Reserve personnel are not reported to have had any recently training courses. Russian personnel present in Transnistria have no chance rotationas it would have to cross NATO or Ukraine territories.
It is legitimate to wonder about a hypothesis offensive the local armed forces and the two Russian contingents to a “West Front” in the war against Ukraine? Because in recent offensives in the Oblast of Zaporizhia The Russian Federation also lost more than a thousand men a day, it cannot seriously be assumed that less than 6 thousand mixed troops could stand up in the fight against the Ukrainian armed forces: it is possible that the military units will already after the second day of clashes crash due to being inoperable losses and some desertions. Geography does not give discounts to an area with a narrow and oblong shape: even if they do not want to move Himar out of OdesaKiev’s troops could easily surgically attack more than half of the hypothetical invader’s territory.
Even if the Kremlin decides to use the territory of all Moldova to add depth to the new front with the new bombs Saab Boeing Supplied by the Americans, it would be easy to destroy bases, vehicles and depots throughout Moldovan territory in a matter of days. Not to mention that in order to resupply the troops, Moscow would have to face fire from the Ukrainians, who are happy to use helicopters and ships self-destructive operations. Sure, in Moscow it’s good to be able to move even a few of the scary ones western rocket launchers or divert a few hundred Ukrainian fighters from the south-eastern fronts of the war: the tactical value of opening this new front would be close to zero in any case, however, also because the Ukrainian railway lines could easily bring a battalion to the south-west, in anticipation of one quick fightto then bring it back to where it is needed most, namely between the Donbass and Zaporizhia.
However, it seems urgent that the West supports Moldova. Not surprising to meet the Moldovan President SanduBiden emphasized the commitment of Washington “To help Moldova build its political and economic resilience and deal with the aftermath of Russia’s war against Ukraine.”