The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that it was detecting a “significant accumulation” of personnel and military equipment of the Ukrainian army near the border with Transnistria. The Russian ministry claims that Kyiv has “intensified preparations for an invasion” in Transnistria. The Ministry of Defense promised that the Russian armed forces would “adequately respond to the impending provocation.”
A press release from the ministry says Ukrainian units are “deploying artillery to firing positions.” There is also allegedly an “unprecedented build-up of flights of unmanned aircraft of the Armed Forces of Ukraine” over the territory of Transnistria. The Ministry of Defense claims that the “invasion” of Ukraine is being prepared “in response to the alleged offensive of Russian troops from the territory of Transnistria.”
“The implementation of the planned provocation by the Ukrainian authorities poses a direct threat to the Russian peacekeeping contingent deployed legally in Transnistria,” the Russian Defense Ministry added.
On February 9, speaking in the European Parliament, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv had handed over to Chisinau a Russian plan to seize power in Moldova. On February 13, Moldovan President Maia Sandu confirmed his words, saying that violence was planned to change the country’s course from pro-European to pro-Russian. The Kremlin advised the Moldovan authorities to be more careful about this topic. The new Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean called on Russia to withdraw peacekeepers from Transnistria. Yesterday, February 23, the Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of preparing an invasion of Transnistria. Moldova does not confirm this .
source: kommersant
