The next front line? Putin’s war threatens Moldova as string of attacks rock Transnistria

Tensions soar in the pro-Russian breakway region as Moscow and Kyiv trade blame for explosions while fears grow that the enclave will be dragged into the war, reports Amanda Coakley

The government building in Tiraspol featuring a statue of Vladimir Lenin (Amanda Coakley)

The Russian-backed separatist enclave of Transnistria was rocked by a series of mysterious attacks this week, raising concerns that Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine could spread to Moldova and establish a new front in the war.

Internationally recognised as part of the Republic of Moldova, Transnistria’s leadership announced on Monday that the state security headquarters in the region’s self-declared capital, Tiraspol, had been the target of an RPG attack.

In the following days, two key communication towers were blown up in the region, while Transnistria officials accused Ukrainians of flying drones over and firing shots at the village of Cobasna, which houses an ammunition depot containing 22,000 tons of heavily guarded Soviet military equipment.