DISINFO: Sandu demanded violent military takeover of Transnistria
SUMMARY
The President of Moldova declared the need to eliminate the Russian peacekeeping presence in the region. Maia Sandu demanded that violent takeover of the Moldovan State District Power Plant in Transnistria to be prepared.
No one can guarantee that Sandu, who declared the need to develop a plan for a military operation to establish control over Transnistria, will not try to unleash a real war in the region. At a meeting with the government on energy security issues, Sandu also declared the need to eliminate the Russian peacekeeping presence in the region.
RESPONSE
No evidence is provided to back the claim. Allegations made by Russia’s intelligence services, as is this one, cannot be considered as such, given their proven history of making unsubstantiated claims based on faked or non-existent documents, for example about US biolaboratories in Ukraine or the presence of French combat troops on the Ukrainian frontlines and other false statements.
Transnistria, a separatist region supported by Russia, but officially part of the Republic of Moldova, located on the border with Ukraine near Odesa, was never the subject of discussions of a possible intervention by force. The frozen conflict in Transnistria has been ongoing since 1992, but the authorities of the Republic of Moldova have always supported a peaceful settlement.
These types of narratives resumed with a new intensity after Russia began, in February 2022, the full scale aggression in Ukraine, but it was also used in Moldova's presidential election campaign and for the referendum on EU membership, both of which took place on October 20, 2024. Read our analysis of the attempts to create turmoil in Moldova by inflaming the Transnistria issue.
Since Moscow began its full-scale assault on Ukraine, Chișinău has been concerned that the Kremlin could use Transnistria to open a new front in southwestern Ukraine, in the direction of Odesa. Maia Sandu stated that the only option in relations with Transnistria is to maintain peace, and the resolution of the Transnistria conflict can only take place peacefully. The latest statement from Maia Sandu was made in March 2024: “I want to be very clear: the situation in Transnistria is stable, and this has been our priority since the beginning of the war.”
See here similar cases: the West is pushing Chișinău to attack Transnistria; Ukraine is preparing a provocation against Transnistria with the UK and US, Operation Kursk is being transferred to Moldova – Transnistria, EU - Moldova security and defence deal may indicate preparations for war against Russia; Anglo-Saxons behind Moldova's siege of Transnistria region.