CHISINAU – Turbulent Transnistria has emerged as an unpredictable new front in Ukraine’s war Video appears A drone attack last week destroyed at least one helicopter in the breakaway state.

Observers noted that the move was clearly reckless. Drone attack because Transnistria is home to the Kobasna ammunition depot, one of the largest weapons depots in the world and closely linked to Russia The stockpile is estimated to be as much as 20 tons Old ordnance in a huge military installation.

Experts from Academy of Sciences of Moldova It is said that an explosion at the site, whether accidental or an act of sabotage, could have caused an explosion greater than the atomic bombs detonated on Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined.

The Kremlin accused Ukraine of conspiring with neighboring Moldova in the attack, after a suicide drone struck a Mil Mi-8 helicopter at the airport in the Transnistrian capital Tiraspol.

According to Russian state news agency TASSSunday “Ukrainian-backed Moldovan forces attack a military base in Transnistria with kamikaze drones”.

However, both Chisinau and Kiev Refute Russia’s claimsclaiming that the explosion was the result of a “false flag” attack by a Russian drone, aiming to further Destabilizes highly charged regions.

Moldovan authorities described the incident as “an attempt to cause fear and panic in the region,” adding that they were in close contact with their Ukrainian counterparts.

They added that the helicopter was destroyed in the attack One senior official told us he hadn’t had a job in years I The TASS report is “absolutely fake news.”

A senior source within the Ukrainian military said I Calling the attack on a Russian air base “completely reckless”, adding: “They are blowing up the fuselage [an aircraft’s mechanical structure] Stop near one of the largest ordnance piles in the world. This is too dangerous. He noted that the liquid could clearly be seen burning in the footage and that there was no reason to refuel a scrapped aircraft unless “someone wanted a decent explosion.”

with potential Create a crater Measuring 1,500m wide and 75m high – equivalent to a magnitude 7.5 earthquake – the facility also stores chemical and biological weapons, some experts say The need for greater international oversight and inspection of this facility has never been more urgent.

Moldova has been raising red flags over the repository for years. Anatolie Prohnitski, chairman of the country’s ecologist Green Party, warned last year: “Some of the explosive devices there are stored in the open air, protected only by barbed wire. Technically, the warehouse can only be detonated by drone, and the consequences will be huge, with harmful effects on the soil and air, and by extension as far as Vienna causing damage in the area.”

Cobasna is a critical ammunition depot Russian troops were sought after World War II, but as the Soviet Union collapsed and Russian troops retreated from Europe, Transnistria became a focal point for the Kremlin’s storage of munitions captured from the former Czechoslovakia and East Germany.

Transnistria was founded between 1990 and 1992 as Moldova descended into civil war as the Berlin Wall fell and Soviet control collapsed.A strip of land sandwiched between Moldova and Ukraine, Transnistria Still not officially recognizedeven Russia, and is designated by the United Nations as the remaining part of Moldova proper, but not a single member state recognizes its existence.

About 1,500 Russian troops remain in Transnistria, under the command of the Russian Federation Command russian army combat groupthere are many soldiers dedicated to guarding the weapons cache.

However, the area has been under a mandatory lockdown since the start of the war and flights cannot take off from Tiraspol Airport without friendly airspace corridors.

This poses a question for Moscow; whether to jailbreak their Tiraspol battalion to increase the number of troops in Ukraine and leave Kobasna undefended, or to gain further theoretical gains in southern Ukraine , allowing soldiers to remain deployed in Transnistria.

The specter of Chernobyl looms over Russia, which has been accused of dangerous safety failures at nuclear power plants and weapons storage facilities.Ukrainian commander says Russian troops continue Store artillery and ordnance At the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, International Atomic Energy Agency warning Even minor incidents involving ammunition can have catastrophic consequences.

Western governments expect Transnistria may Putin’s next target If he wins in Ukraine, he will win in Europe because Ukraine is conveniently located between mainland Moldova and southwestern Ukraine.

Moldova has been granted EU candidate status following its application to join the bloc in 2022, meaning any military aggression in the region could herald uncertain new borders in the conflict in Ukraine.

The Kremlin not only Suspect sought to destabilize the region, but is now seen as repurposing its Ukrainian playbook by fanning anti-government and pro-Russian sentiment.

Russian operations in Moldova and Transnistria are similar to what Ukraine experienced in the Donbas and Luhansk regions ahead of a full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, with Moscow-led agents conspiring with Wagner mercenaries to undermine the government and spread pro-Moscow propaganda and then launch armed conflict. assault.

Many senior military figures in Ukraine worry that Putin may try to exploit his new electoral mandate and Kiev’s shortages of manpower and ammunition to authorize increasingly reckless actions as he continues Repeat threat Deploying nuclear weapons to force Ukraine into submission.

Despite Russia’s victory in the battle for control of Kherson, Russian efforts to make progress along Ukraine’s Black Sea coastline have so far been thwarted.

If Putin takes control of important cities like Odessa, he may be able to liberate Transnistria from the landlocked country, secure enough ammunition to keep his troops supplied for years, and do so with or without U.S. military aid. He was able to effectively outweapon the Ukrainian military. As global ammunition stocks dwindled, the United States and European allies were also affected.

Moldovan Apply to join the EU It marks a sea change in policy for a country that for more than 200 years has been firmly within the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation, with a government keen to distance itself from Moscow.Last July, Chisinau Deport 45 Russians Designated as a spy and agitator for “unfriendly conduct.”

One controversial idea is unification with Romania.Senior Moldovan government official stated I They are willing to consider complete secession and becoming an autonomous region Neighboring Romania Speed ​​up the country’s EU membership and gain some protection from Russia’s expansionist policies.

a government minister told I: “What people must understand is that the Republic of Moldova is not the successor of the Russian Federation, the Russian Federation is the successor of the Republic of Moldova.”

He added that Tiraspol’s population is Moldovan citizens and the government is working towards unification.

“We still hope not to get involved in the war, but…” He shrugged and smiled helplessly.