Russia using arms depots in Transnistria to smuggle weapons Statement by Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukrainian Defence Ministry

Russia has been using ammunition depots in Transnistria to smuggle weapons, Korrespondent.net reports, referring to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.

“Every year, mobilization exercises are held there with an operational group of Russian troops deployed on this territory. During the exercises, defensive and counter-offensive actions are taken through ammunition from arms depots in Kolbasna village. Some ammunition is used for combat training, others, according to the military intelligence, for smuggling,” Vadym Skibitsky, representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence told the Current Time TV channel.

The representative of military intelligence said that the current situation in Transnistria testifies to the readiness of the Russian Federation to use the territory occupied 30 years ago as an additional springboard for aggression not only against Ukraine, but also for possible military actions against the Republic of Moldova.

“We are monitoring the developments in Transnistria. There is an intensive struggle between the authorities. The special services of the Russian Federation are actively working. The terrorist acts committed in Transnistria were aimed at forcing Transnistria’s leadership to agree to the expansion of the number of Russian troops,” Skibitsky said.

Explosions at the facilities will be presented as a threat to the population of the region and a signal to the leadership of the Republic of Moldova to abandon the pro-European policy.

"The main goal is to keep this region completely under Moscow’s control, as it has been trying to do for 30 years," the representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate said.

As for the terrorist attacks, Skibitsky stressed that these are typical actions of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation.

“According to our data, the whole situation in Transnistria is under the Russian Federal Security Service’s control,” Skibitsky said.