Moldova says reported drone strike in breakaway Transnistria region a ‘provocation’

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Moldova’s reintegration bureau said the reported drone strike in the country’s breakaway region of Transnistria is a “provocation.”

A statement by the Moldovan Bureau for Reintegration Policies on Sunday said it contacted other public authorities in the country.

“Following the examination of the video images and the exchange of information, we communicate that the incident in question is an attempt to provoke fear and panic in the region,” the statement said.

It further said the military equipment in the images “has not been functional for several years.”

“Authorities in Chisinau, in contact with the Ukrainian side, do not confirm any attack on the Transnistrian region,” it added.

In a separate statement, Andriy Yusov, the spokesman of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, told the RBC-Ukraine news agency that the incident was a “Russian provocation.”

Law enforcement agencies of the breakaway region told the Russian state news agency TASS that an old helicopter in the city of Tiraspol caught fire.

“According to preliminary data, it was caused by an attack by a kamikaze drone, the flight of which was recorded from the direction of the Clover Bridge,” the report further said.

The breakaway Transnistria region which is internationally recognized as part of Moldova has been controlled by pro-Russian separatists since the early 1990s.​​​​​​​