Moldova denies entry of Russian troops from unrecognized Transnistria to its territory

In the latest development linked to the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kyiv, Moldova did not permit Russian military forces to enter its territory. Daniel Voda, a spokesperson for the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made this statement, according to European Pravda. The Moldovan Foreign Affairs Ministry stated on Thursday that Russian troops from the "so-called operational group" (OGRV) located in Transnistria were not permitted entry into Moldova. 

According to Voda, the officers of the Russian forces' OGRV are an "illegal formation that violates the status of neutrality of Moldova".  

Daniel Voda further explained, “The military personnel rotation of the Russian peacekeeping contingent is conducted in a certain way to avoid risks and ensure the coordinated movement of the contingent’s personnel,” as per the European Pravda report.

Russia expressed concern over detained Russian troops dispatched to Transnistria

Notably, the detention of Russian personnel who have been dispatched to the Transnistria region to staff the Russian force on a rotating basis had already drawn the attention of the Russian Foreign Ministry. 

The spokesperson also noted, “In this context, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration repeats the position of the Moldovan authorities regarding the need to unconditionally resume the process of withdrawing Russian troops and ammunition depots from our country,” European Pravda reported. 

The Operational Group of Russian Forces is the official name of the Russian military presence in Transnistria. As per the European Pravda report, the remnants of the previous 14th Russian army, which was stationed here at the beginning of the 1990s and actively participated in the Transnistrian conflict, were used to construct it. 

Moldova-Ukraine railway operations

Besides this, in the month of June, Moldova and war-torn Ukraine had been planning to resume all railway operations, including freight train service. According to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Moldovan Infrastructure and Regional Development Ministry and the Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry, the freight train line in the Berezino (Ukraine)-Basarabeasca (Moldova) railway segment will be inaugurated this autumn, Ukrinform reported. 

Further, Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukraine's minister of infrastructure, and Andrei Spînu, Moldova's deputy prime minister, have signed the agreement. In addition, Moldova would build 1.2 kilometres of railway tracks, while Ukraine will build over 23 kilometres. Once train services would return, Moldova plans to import and export goods through Ukraine's Izmail Port on the Danube. 

After the Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Moldova declared it would send skilled sappers there to clean up the liberated communities and provide humanitarian relief to the Ukrainians who were suffering. 

(Image: Twitter/SanduMaimaMD/AP)