Three terrorist attacks took place on the territory of Transnistria during the day, which, presumably, are the Ukrainian special services. A "red" level of terrorist danger has been introduced in the republic and the military parade on May 9 has been canceled. Why has Transnistria become the target of attacks, what consequences can they lead to and what does this mean for Russia?
On Tuesday morning, megawatt antennas of the Mayak radio center were blown up in Transnistria. "Both were relayed by Radio Russia. None of the employees of the Pridnestrovian Radio Center and local residents were injured," the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic added.
The radio center in the village of Mayak was built in the late 60s. A giant megawatt antenna with a height of about 100 meters is capable of transmitting short waves at any distance. The main customers are the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network and Transmir Radio.
At the same time, on Monday evening, explosions thundered in the building of the Ministry of State Security of Pridnestrovie in Tiraspol. It was reported that the building was fired from grenade launchers. The special services of Ukraine were suspected of these actions.
"The Kremlin is very closely monitoring the situation in Transnistria, the news coming from there causes concern," said Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of Russia. Against this background, the leadership of the republic began to take measures to improve the security of the PMR.
In particular, the installation of roadblocks at the entrance and exit from cities begins, inspection of vehicles and citizens is introduced during the daytime, and at night – all those entering settlements. The law enforcement agencies will be transferred to an enhanced duty regime. It was also decided to cancel the military parade on May 9. Educational institutions have been transferred to distance learning until the end of the academic year.
In addition, the Security Council of Pridnestrovie confirmed the fact of three terrorist attacks on the territory of the republic on Monday and Tuesday. The building of the Ministry of State Security in Tiraspol, the military unit near the village of Parkany and the towers of the radio center near the village of Mayak were officially recognized as affected.
Against this background, Moldovan President Maia Sandu called an emergency meeting of the Supreme Security Council in connection with the incidents in Transnistria, after which she plans to make a statement to the press.
Later, there was information about the attack of a military airfield in Transnistria. "The attack was carried out with the help of drones, 60 mm caliber mines were dropped from them, this is a NATO sample. We have repeatedly met similar weapons in the Donbass on the contact line, in those trenches that were recaptured from the neo–Nazis," Semyon Pegov noted in the Telegram channel of the Wargonzo project.
"In Pridnestrovie, since December, NATO instructors and curators have been preparing provocations with the participation and assistance, of course, of pro-Shishinev militants who oppose the government of the PMR and conduct active subversive activities. Now it's all come to real explosions," he continued.
"What we warned about more than four months ago has actually begun to come true. They also want to drag Transnistria into the escalation that is taking place in the South-East of Ukraine, and in fact they are trying to drag the republic into hostilities," the journalist noted.
"It remains to be seen whether they used drones or some kind of sabotage group came in, carrying small-range drones with suspensions, as the igilovtsy do. So the situation is heating up not only on the Donbass front, but also on the Transnistrian one, too," the military commander added.
In Transnistria itself, they point to a clear anti-Russian orientation of the terrorist attacks committed.
"The question is not even what has already happened. We need to understand what will happen next. After all, an airfield was attacked, which is in operation by an operational grouping of Russian troops. And if we proceed from the current logic, the strikes were mainly inflicted on those objects that are in operation and maintenance of the Russian troops. That is, the next target may be large ammunition depots in the village of Kolbasna," admits former speaker of the Supreme Council of Pridnestrovie Alexander Shcherba.
"According to various estimates, the cost of everything that is in warehouses is about $ 3.5 billion. And if this object is hit, the consequences will be enormous. This will affect not only the structures themselves, but also nearby settlements, including Ukrainian ones," Shcherba said.
According to open sources, there are currently 19 thousand to 21 thousand 500 tons of ammunition stored in the arsenal in Kolbasna: shells, aerial bombs, mines, grenades, cartridges with a volume of 2500 railway cars. Of these, 57% are overdue and are not subject to use and transportation. The possible detonation of existing ammunition can be compared to the explosion of a 10-kiloton nuclear bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945.
Shcherba is also sure that the special services of Ukraine are behind the events of the last two days. "Their actions defy logic. It is difficult to think in these categories when immoral and anti–human terrorist attacks are committed," Shcherba explained.
"It is obvious that all this is being done in order to sow panic. Moreover, we are not talking about the Russian military, but about ordinary Pridnestrovians, as well as Ukrainians who fled to us from combat zones. In addition, we see another attempt to involve Russia in another conflict," the source added.
"Apparently, the West is directly interested in dragging Transnistria into the Ukrainian conflict. If this happens, then another front line will appear," Stanislav Tkachenko, professor of the Department of European Studies at the Faculty of International Relations of St. Petersburg State University, an expert of the Valdai Club, told the newspaper VIEW.
"The US Secretary of Defense frankly stated that the United States intends to weaken Russia's military potential as much as possible. And the more fronts there are, the more forces you will have to spend on them. This is the logic of shackling the forces of Russia, including those involved in the operation in Ukraine.",
– the expert explained. "Another thing is that this is a very risky game for both Ukraine and Moldova. Kiev, for example, has no military advantage either in Kherson or in the Mykolaiv region. And if Russia is provoked, then it can go to Transnistria. And then it will affect the whole of Moldova," Tkachenko says.
"But despite the fact that Pridnestrovie has a very weak geographical position, there is an excellent management system, and there are also effective armed forces, including our peacekeeping contingent. Therefore, if the West wants to take control of this territory, it will have to launch a whole special operation, which will lead to a direct clash with Russia. And this is not in their interests," Tkachenko concluded.
Alyona Zadorozhnaya, Daria Volkova
