Moldova demands explanations for unauthorised exercises by Russian “peacekeepers” in Transnistria

At a meeting held on 18 January, the Moldovan delegation to the Joint Control Commission (JCC) demanded an investigation into Russian military exercises held on 22 December near the administrative border between the right and left banks of the Dniester. The Joint Control Commission is a joint military command structure from Moldova, Transnistria and Russia that operates in the demilitarised zone on the border between Moldova and Ukraine. Source: European Pravda, citing Moldovan media outlet NewsMaker

Details: The Moldovan side reminded the Commission that the Russian military had conducted exercises at joint "peacekeeping" forces' posts using military weapons, equipment and materiel, some of which was not even declared as the military contingent's equipment.

The members of the Moldovan delegation to the JCC signed a statement expressing their objection to this violation of the Commission's core agreements. They reminded them that simulated gunfire "causes anxiety among civilians due to the horrific sounds of shooting and the potential for undesirable aggravation of the situation". In addition, the exercise was observed by military commanders, "whose presence without a decision of the Joint Military Command is a gross violation of the provisions on commandant's offices in areas with a high security regime".

In December 2023 and January 2024, OSCE monitoring teams were not immediately allowed to pass through illegally established posts of the Transnistrian authorities, even though the OSCE Mission had notified them of its representatives' movements in advance. "The Moldovan delegation has therefore requested that an investigation be conducted into these violations and that new rules on exercises be drawn up in order to prevent similar illegal actions by one of the military contingents of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces," Chisinau said. The Russian military contingent in Transnistria is officially known as the Operational Group of Russian Forces (OGRF).

The OGRF was created from the remnants of the former 14th Russian Army, which was deployed here in the early 1990s and took an active part in the Transnistrian conflict.

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