Apparently, Putin's Russia, waging a not very successful war against Ukraine, is not afraid to raise the stakes and may escalate its conflict with the West.
On July 21, the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (the upper house of the Russian parliament) did not rule out the opening of a second front – in Transnistria, and threatened a catastrophe for the Moldovan statehood. It was stated that the US and the EU were trying to turn the Republic of Moldova into a second Ukraine, pumping it with Western weapons. It was also suggested that it was precisely the patronage of the West over the authorities in Chisinau that prevents Moldova from dealing with a long-standing problem – the uncontrolled Transnistrian region, – where Russian troops have been stationed for 30 years. At the same time, no one in the Federation Council remembered that in 1999, Russia pledged to withdraw all the weapons and the entire personnel of its military contingent from the territory of Transnistria until 2003, in accordance with the decision of the Istanbul Summit of the OSCE.
The same day, the Russian Foreign Ministry complained that the Moldovan authorities once again detained Russian officers at the airport in Chisinau, who were heading to the unrecognized “Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic” (“PMR”) to replenish the peacekeeping contingent. At the same time, the main headquarters of the Russian Ground Forces stated that Moldova was blocking the supply of Russian military equipment to Transnistria by all means, hoping for the inevitable combat wear of the Russian contingent.
On July 20, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the “PRT” announced that the armed conflict between the “PRT”, strongly supported by Russia, and the Republic of Moldova could be resumed (for the first time since 1992). The so-called president of the quasi-state entity in separatist Transnistria, Vadim Krasnoselsky, has showed teeth and warned that NATO member states could be involved in an escalating conflict in the region, bringing them into direct military confrontation with Russia. Naturally, the “authorities” in Tiraspol, first of all, had in mind the involvement of Romania in the conflict, since Romanians and Moldovans belong to the same ethnic group and speak the same (Romanian) language. Also, Tiraspol unreasonably and without evidence accused Chisinau that Moldova creates barriers for the import of food, fuel, medicines, fertilizers and industrial equipment to the “PMR”.
Shortly before this, ex-president Dmitry Medvedev has expressed his great dissatisfaction with
Moldova (now holding the post of deputy head of the Security Council of the Russian Federation). He specifically wrote that “in case of a serious mess, Russia will be ready to protect 220 thousand citizens of Russia living in Transnistria.” He also expressed a number of threats to Moldova due to the fact that in Chisinau considered the opportunity to join the sanctions against the Russian Federation, conducted by the anti – Putin coalition of the Western countries and their allies. The first thing D. Medvedev promised to do was to completely block Moldova supply of Russian natural gas and other resources.
In addition, the Russian Federation's establishment really does not like other things in Chisinau: the President of Moldova Maia Sandu and her “Party of Action and Solidarity” (PAS), which control the legislative and executive power, adhere to democratic and liberal values and want to enter the EU, not the EAEU (led by the Russian Federation); M. Sandu has announced the need to modernize the army, explaining this by a real threat from Putin's Russia; in Chisinau, the pro-Russian ex-president Igor Dodon and his minions are now being judged for corruption; Moldova blocks the rotation of Russian troops in the “PMR,” and constantly insists on withdrawing the Russian contingent from the left bank of the Dniester.
At least, Ukraine, the European Union and the United States should be prepared for such a development of events when totalitarian Russia attacks another sovereign democratic state.
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