Moldovan President Maia Sandu convened an urgent meeting of the country’s supreme security council on Tuesday morning, after two explosions damaged Soviet-era radio masts in the breakaway region of Transnistria.
The blasts came after numerous explosions were reported in Tiraspol, capital of Transnistria, on Monday evening.
There were no injuries reported in any of the blasts, but reports said the state security ministry in Tiraspol was damaged.
In a statement on Facebook, Transnistria’s interior ministry said some of the building’s windows were broken and that smoke was “billowing out of” the structure.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but on Monday, Moldova’s foreign ministry said the Tiraspol explosions were aimed at creating “pretexts for straining the security situation in the Transnistrian region, which is not controlled by the constitutional authorities”.
Here is everything you need to know about the situation.
Is Moldova part of Nato?
Moldova is not part of Nato, nor does it have any active plans to become a member.
This means Nato would not be bound to defend it, should Russia decide to launch an attack on Moldovan soil.
The country is neutral under its constitution, but it does have relations with Nato via the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council.
Nato has also worked with Moldova to modernise its defence and security structures.
Moldova is also not part of the EU, but again does have a diplomatic agreement with the member states.
Moldova has already accepted thousands of Ukrainian refugees and President Sandu has condemned Russia’s invasion.
After Russia sent troops into Ukraine she said: “Yesterday morning, we woke up in a new world, more violent, more uncertain, more unstable. It is a world where unprovoked warfare is taking its toll near our borders. It is undoubtedly a world we hoped we would never like to live in.”
More on Russia-Ukraine war
Why is Transnistria significant?
Transnistria is a thin strip of land along Moldova’s eastern border, which it shares with Ukraine.
The breakaway state is internationally recognised as part of Moldova, but has been under the control of Russian-backed separatist authorities since a 1992 war with Moldova.
Russia has about 1,500 soldiers stationed in Transnistria, which it describes as “peacekeepers”.
However, there are fears that Russia may look to gain full control of the region, and also use it as a base from which to attack Ukraine from the west.
Russian Major-General Rustam Minnekaev has referred to Transnistria as a place “where there have been cases of oppression of the Russian-speaking population”.
President Putin made a similar claim in an attempt to justify the invasion of Ukraine.
Moldova called Major-Gen Minnekaev’s comments “unfounded and contradicting Russia’s position in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country within internationally recognised borders”.
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