On 17 March, Transnistrian media reported that a drone, allegedly coming from the direction of Ukraine’s Odesa Oblast, struck a helicopter at an unspecified military unit in Transnistria, and shared video footage of the drone attack.
???? Reports of a drone attack on a military helicopter Mi-8T in Transnistria, Moldova's breakaway region bordering Ukraine and supported by Russia.
No official confirmations or statements have been released yet
???? https://t.co/hmU0FjfU1w pic.twitter.com/JB5hkGTeKh
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) March 17, 2024
Neither Transnistrian nor Russian authorities have blamed Ukrainian forces for the strike, though they may do so in the future. Alexander Shcherba, former Chairman of the Transnistrian Supreme Council, claimed that the attack bore “Ukrainian fingerprints” and that Ukraine was the “main beneficiary.”
ISW says it “cannot independently verify the details of the singular drone strike in Transnistria or identify the responsible actors, but it is unlikely that Ukrainian forces conducted the strike given the limited means used in the strike and the insignificant target,” as Ukrainian officials have also recently stated that Transnistria does not pose a military threat to Ukraine.
Recently, Transnistrian authorities requested unspecified “zashchita” (defense/protection) from Russia against Moldova., and “Russia or Russian-linked actors would likely be the beneficiaries of this provocation in order to further the Kremlin’s ongoing efforts to set information conditions to justify a variety of Russian hybrid operations that aim to destabilize Moldova, about which ISW has extensively warned,” ISW concluded.
Read also:
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- ISW warns of escalating Russian hybrid operations in Moldova ahead of EU accession talks
- Military: Russian troops stationed in Modova’s Transnistria pose no threat
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