Could the conflict in Ukraine spread? Moldova announced on Tuesday, April 26, measures to strengthen its security. A decision taken after a series of explosions in the separatist region of Transnistria, supported by Moscow. “This is an attempt to increase tensions. We strongly condemn such actions. The Moldovan authorities will take care to prevent the republic from being drawn into a conflict”said Moldovan President Maïa Sandu after a meeting of the National Security Council.
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Calling the people to “calm”, she announced the strengthening of road and transport controls, border patrols and additional measures to protect essential infrastructure. These measures illustrate the concern that reigns in Moldova, a former Soviet republic which fears to be the next target of Moscow, after Ukraine, a neighboring country where Russia has been leading a military offensive for more than two months.
On Tuesday, two explosions damaged a tower relaying Russian radio frequencies in Mayak, near the Ukrainian border, said the interior ministry of this self-proclaimed “republic”. The day before, the authorities of Transnistria, whose independence is not recognized by the international community, had declared that the headquarters of the Ministry of Public Security in Tiraspol, the regional capital, had come under fire.
Russia “follow carefully” the situation in this province, a Kremlin spokesman said on Tuesday, adding that “the information that comes from it arouses concern”.
Moldova is already suffering the consequences of the war in Ukraine, with the influx of more than 400,000 people who fled the fighting. But this small Eastern European country of 2.6 million inhabitants wedged between Romania and Ukraine now fears being won over by the conflict, especially since its relations with Russia have been strained since the arrival at the head of the state in 2020 of Maïa Sandu, who is pro-European. France has in any case announced supports Moldova against “at the risk of destabilization”French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian reacted on Tuesday.