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Putin wants puppet govt in Moldova to deploy troops in breakaway region Transnistria, warns PM
Vladimir Putin wants to install a puppet government in Moldova so it can strengthen Russia's hold on the breakaway region of Transnistria, the country's premier has warned.
Moldova is sandwiched between Ukraine to the north, east, and south, and Romania to the west. Its border region of Transnistria has been controlled by a pro-Russia regime since 1990. With the Russian backing, the separatists fought and won a brief war with Moldova in 1992.
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Ahead of elections in the country in September, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean has told Financial Times that Putin is interfering in the country's politics so that he could replace the pro-European Union (EU) government with a pro-Russia, puppet government.
If such a puppet government is elected, Putin would deploy 10,000 soldiers in Transnistria, said Recean.
'This is a huge effort to undermine Moldovan democracy'
Recean has said that Putin's plot is a bid to undermine Moldova's democracy.
'This is a huge effort to undermine Moldovan democracy. They want to consolidate their military presence in the Transnistrian region,' said Reacan.
Since 1992, when Russia intervened in favour of the separatist regime, its soldiers have been stationed in Transnistria. The number, however, is relatively small and it is not easy to deploy more soldiers as the region is landlocked and has no direct road link to Russia.
Recean further said, 'You can imagine with 10,000 troops, what the leverage and pressure would be on the south-western part of Ukraine, but also close to Romania, which is a Nato member state.'
Russia has long had eyes on Moldova
This is not the first time that Russian interference has been reported in Moldova, formerly a part of the Soviet Union.
In last year's referendum about the European Union (EU) membership, unprecedented Russian interference was reported in the form of propaganda dissemination, buying people's votes, and subversive activities like cyberattacks. A narrow majority of people voted to make way for Moldova's EU membership.
The process to join the EU began last year and is expected to be completed by 2028-29.
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For years, analysts have warned that Moldova could be the next target of Russian aggression after Ukraine as it is a former Soviet republic in Russia's extended neighbourhood and is neither a member of Nato nor the EU. This means the country has no external security blanket like some other countries in Russia's neighbourhood or extended neighbourhood, such as Finland and Romania.
Moreover, unlike Ukraine, Moldova has a very small and poorly armed and trained military that is unlikely to withstand any invasion. The country is therefore considered a soft target for Russia.
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