At a meeting of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) on the management of the peacekeeping operation in Transnistria, Moldova announced a violation of the security regime by the so-called Russian peacekeeping contingent.
About this, as he writes “European Truth” with reference to Moldpresthe Moldovan Bureau for Reintegration says in a statement.
During the meeting of the JCC, Moldova raised the issue of the illegal posts of the “Transnistrian” security forces and the need for their withdrawal from the so-called security zone, located along the entire administrative border between the right and left banks of the Dniester.
The Moldovan delegation drew attention to the repeated cases of placing checkpoints by the united peacekeeping forces, where cars are stopped unreasonably, including diplomats accredited in Moldova.
Chisinau also pointed to the violation of the regime of the Security Zone by the Russian military contingent from February to April 2023. It was about uncoordinated “movements of armored military equipment outside the location of the posts of the United Peacekeeping Forces.”
The Bureau for Reintegration of Moldova noted that these incidents “resonated in society and increased the dissatisfaction of the residents of the Security Zone, who are regularly subjected to unreasonable stops with excessive checks of documents and vehicles.”
In this regard, Chisinau called on the Russian military contingent to refrain from destabilizing actions and contribute to maintaining peace on the banks of the Dniester.
The military contingent of the Russian Federation in Transnistria has the official name of the Operational Group of Russian Forces (OGRF). The OGRF was created from the remnants of the former 14th Russian Army, which was stationed here in the early 1990s and took an active part in the Transnistrian conflict.
The OGRF itself is quite small: two motorized rifle battalions plus a command and control unit. In general, this is from 1,500 to 1,700 Russian servicemen. The vast majority of the OGRF is made up of local residents who have Russian citizenship.
Moldova considers the presence of the OGRF in Transnistria illegal and demands its withdrawal. Previously, the Russian military could rotate through the land corridor of Ukraine, but since 2014 they have not had such an opportunity.
Read also: It’s time to liquidate Transnistria. How Ukraine should and cannot act for this.
