Moscow, 28 February 2024 (dpa/MIA) - The pro-Russian rulers of the breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova have asked Russia for "protection," according to media reports.

A congress of the internationally unrecognized separatist region, which borders on Ukraine, voted in favour of a resolution to this effect on Wednesday, Moldovan media reported.

According to the resolution, Transnistria wants to turn to the Russian Federation Council and the State Duma "with a request to implement measures to protect Transnistria in the face of increasing pressure from Moldova."

What exactly they expect from Russia was not immediately clear. There was initially no official reaction from Moscow.

For Moldova, a candidate to join the European Union that borders Ukraine and EU member Romania, this is likely to fuel fears of Russian aggression on its territory - especially as Russia has had its own soldiers stationed in Transnistria for decades. The country is not a NATO member.

The region broke away from Moldova in the 1990s. Following the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moldovan politicians have repeatedly expressed great concern about Moscow's designs on the region. Observers have also accused Russia of deliberately destabilizing the situation in the region with provocations.

In their appeal to Moscow, the rulers in Transnistria referred to residents as Russian citizens living in the separatist region. This is also likely to worry many.

Russian military doctrine states that army operations are also permitted outside the country's own territory when it comes to the supposed protection of Russian citizens.

To date, the Kremlin has not recognized Transnistria as a separate state.

Photo: MIA Archive