Moldova’s Sandu says Putin wants more troops through Transnistria citizenship decree
Photo: Moldovan President Maia Sandu (Getty Images)
Russian president Vladimir Putin's decree on simplified granting of Russian citizenship to residents of unrecognized Transnistria could be used to mobilize residents of the Moldovan region for the war against Ukraine, reports Politico.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu believes that such a decision is an attempt at covert mobilization of the region's population for the war against Ukraine.
"Probably they need more people to send to the war in Ukraine," the president noted.
She suggested that this is one of Russia's tactics aimed at threatening Moldova over its efforts to reintegrate Transnistria.
"Since the war in Ukraine began, most of the people from the region took their Moldovan citizenship because they felt safer to have the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova and not the citizenship of Russia," Sandu emphasized.
Asked whether Putin could block Moldova's accession to the EU because of the Transnistrian issue, she replied that "only the EU can decide whether Moldova can become part of the EU or not. Russia has nothing to do with it."
Russian passports in Transnistria
On May 15, Putin signed a decree simplifying admission to Russian citizenship for residents of Transnistria.
According to the document, the right to simplified acquisition of a Russian passport was granted to adult and legally capable persons permanently residing in the territory of the unrecognized region.
In response to such actions, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia wants to designate Transnistria as its territory. According to the head of state, the Kremlin pursues two key goals: to legitimize the occupation status of Moldova's region and to find a new mobilization resource to recruit soldiers for the front.
Given the presence of a Russian contingent in the region and potential threats, at the beginning of May, Ukraine strengthened its defense on the border with unrecognized Transnistria. On the southwestern frontiers, the military is actively building a layered defense system and strengthening protection capabilities.
