On Thursday, April 20, representatives of Chisinau have issued a statement warning of violations of the Security Zone regime by the Russian military contingent of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces. The cases were fixed between February and April this year and were expressed by the uncoordinated movement with the Unified Control Commission of armoured military equipment outside the range of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces posts.

The document also mentions a case recorded at peacekeeping post No. 9, which occurred on Wednesday, April 19, when several armored vehicles moved unattended in the area.

“In particular the situation around peacekeeping post no. 9 (left), in the area of Vadul lui Voda bridge, which took place on 19 April 2023, when at 04:53 another case of unauthorized movement of armored vehicles along the route was recorded, which were driven from the police customs post Pîrîta and back in a column, consisting of an armored troop transport “BTR-60” and a military truck “Ural”, carrying a group of soldiers in balaclavas, not part of peacekeeping post no. 9,” the document states.

According to the statement, the uncoordinated movement caused confusion among the employees of the customs police post. “Taking into account that the standard armament barrel of the armoured personnel carrier was
aimed at the post, the actions of the military contingent of the Russian Federation peacekeeping forces were perceived as a possible attack and alarmed police units in the area.”

Thanks to the involvement of officials of the Dubasari Police Inspectorate the situation was resolved. After reporting this incident, it was also established that there was no referral from the leadership of the Russian component of the Peacekeeping Forces in the Transnistrian region of Moldova.

“It is also inexplicable that the given actions were carried out under the direction and with the direct participation of the Military Commander of the Central and Northern Sections of the Security Zone, Colonel D. Grishin, without a proper decision of the Unified Control Commission, to which he is subordinate. […] The Unified Control Commission took no decision and gave no instructions on the movement of armoured vehicles. In this regard, the complaint No. 106 dated April 19, 2023 has been sent to the Unified Control Commission with a proposal to consider the uncoordinated, unauthorized actions of the Military Commander of the Central Security Zone and SU D. Grishin on this fact,” the statement said.