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Ukraine on Tuesday accused Russia of trying to create unrest in a Moscow-backed separatist region of ex-Soviet Moldova where recent blasts have raised fears of a spillover of the Ukraine war.
“Russia wants to destabilise the Transnistrian region and hints Moldova should wait for ‘guests,’” Mykhaylo Podolyak, a Ukraine presidential aide wrote on Twitter.
The breakaway region saw explosions hit its security ministry on Monday and a radio tower on Tuesday morning, incidents that follow bellicose statements from Russian officials on Moldova.
“Bad news: if Ukraine falls tomorrow Russian troops will be at Chisinau’s gates,” Podolyak said, referring to the capital of Moldova, which neighbours Ukraine.
“Good news: Ukraine will definitely ensure strategic security of the region. But we need to work as a team,” Podolyak added.
Transnistria is an unrecognised breakaway region that seceded in 1990, followed by a short war in 1992, with the Russian army fighting alongside separatists against Moldovan forces.