Motorized units of the Russian Operative Troops Group (GOTR), stationed in Transdnistria, participated in a military exercise in which Russian armoured forces forced the Dniestr River near Ternovca, Slobozia District, Radio Chisinau reported on Thursday.
According to information, the drills were scheduled at the end of the week, but they were brought forward and performed on Wednesday, according to the radio, quoted by digi24.ro.
During this exercise, Russian soldiers were ordered to force the Dniestr River to land on the other bank, and the BTR-70 armoured vehicles entered the battle, as announced by the Transdnistrian official agency Novosti PMR.
“An exercise to overcome water obstacles on the Dniester River took place. There were some difficulties, but due to the frequent exercises everything went at the highest level,” said the head of a BTR-70 armoured vehicle with GOTR’s infantry units.
“The troops successfully dealt with all the tasks,” said GOTR Commander Colonel Dmitry Zelenkov.
The Moldovan government said last week that due to the sympathy of the “Russian peacekeepers” with the separatist regime in Tiraspol, the peacekeeping operation on the left bank of the Dniester River has become a factor in maintaining the Transdnistrian conflict, Radio Chisinau informs.
In turn, the Moldovan delegation to the Joint Control Commission (CUC) expressed concerns about the preparations for the unauthorized deployment of military drills that simulate the attack of the Dniester River, which could generate new tensions in the security area.
In this context, Deschide.md recalls the decision of May of the Constitutional Court in Chisinau that the presence on the territory of the Republic of Moldova of any troops or military bases, headed and controlled by foreign states, is unconstitutional.
Similar exercises, involving the armoured technique that forced the Dniester, were organized by GOTR last year too, under the pretext of preventing alleged “terrorist threats”.
This year, the manoeuvres took place amid tensions between Chisinau and Moscow after the Moldovan government declared Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, the emissary of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Transdnistria, as persona non grata, as a result of his denigrating and offensive statements against Republic of Moldova.