‘Russian troops guarantee our safety’: How public opinion in breakaway Transnistria region in Moldova favours the east

Published

2 years ago

March 17, 2023

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On the edge of Europe is a pocket of pro-Russian support which has been under close watch since the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

Transnistria is a breakaway region in eastern Moldova which is politically, economically and militarily supported by Moscow.

Neither Moldova nor the wider international community recognise its independence.

In Transnistria’s capital, Tiraspol, hammer and sickle banners flutter in the wind as public opinion favours the east.

“Transnistria and Russia are one structure and they have to be united,” says resident, Andrey, when asked if the Russian military should leave Transnistria.

“The Russian troops here are our guarantee of safety. While they are here, we are safe,” a young woman adds.

Here, it’s neighbouring country, Ukraine, that’s been eyed with suspicion.

Last week, security services in the region said they’d thwarted a Ukrainian plot to murder officials including the separatist leader.

Kyiv has denied the allegations as Russian provocation.

But the pro-Kremlin sentiment has left many people living a few miles away in pro-western Moldova feeling uneasy.

In the village of Calfa, allegiances are very different.

“I’m so close I can hear Transnistrian TV and radio. Every day they’re talking about war, about the invasion of Ukraine. We don’t believe them because they broadcast fake news,” says Ludmila Ceaglac, the local mayor.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, they’ve started feeling nervous of their neighbours.

“I understand they have a big base with weapons from the Second World War and this is our biggest fear. We don’t know if the weapons are active. We hope they won’t come here with their weapons because Moldova has a small army,” she explains.

While few analysts forecast a full-scale Russian invasion of Moldova via Transnistria, Moscow has been accused of launching a hybrid war including stirring up unrest at anti-government protests and spreading propaganda.

Last month, Moldova’s President Sandu said they had uncovered plans to use foreign saboteurs to stage a coup.

Russia’s foreign ministry rejected the allegations as “completely unfounded and unsubstantiated”.

On Sunday, Moldovan police arrested seven people accused of instigating unrest during anti-government protests.

On a visit to the capital, the UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly arrived with a message of support and £10m to help fight Russian interference.

“You are not alone,” he said in a meeting with his counterpart in the capital Chisinau.

“In his arrogance, Vladimir Putin has attempted to punish Moldova for doing those right things, and its incumbent on the UK to support Moldova on its journey in the right direction,” Mr Cleverly added.

Ministers aren’t preparing for Russian tanks to roll into Moldova but they say they are already fighting a war; a battle against Kremlin-backed disinformation and disruption aimed at spreading fear and unrest.

World

Belgium announces it will recognise Palestinian state

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5 hours ago

September 2, 2025

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Belgium announces it will recognise Palestinian state

The Belgian government has said it will officially recognise the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly this month.

The country’s foreign minister, Maxime Prevot, announced it will join the UK, France, Canada, and Australia in recognising a Palestinian state.

Belgium will also introduce “firm sanctions” against the Israeli government, he said, including a ban on imports from West Bank settlements and possible judicial prosecutions.

The Israeli foreign ministry and its Belgian embassy have not yet commented on the announcement.

However, its foreign ministry previously said the UK’s plan to recognise Palestine “constitutes a reward for Hamas”.

Sir Keir Starmer announced in July that the UK would recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel meets certain conditions, those being:

• Israel takes substantive steps to end the “appalling situation in Gaza“

• Israel agrees to a ceasefire

• Israel commits to a long-term sustainable peace – reviving the prospect of a two-state solution

• Israel must allow the UN to restart the supply of aid

• There must be no annexations in the West Bank

In response, the Israeli foreign ministry said: “The shift in the British government’s position at this time, following the French move and internal political pressures, constitutes a reward for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of hostages.”

The UN General Assembly session in New York will begin on 9 September. Ireland, Spain, and Norway all officially recognised a Palestinian state last year.

Out of the 193 United Nations member states, 147 already recognise Palestine as a state as of March 2025.

Earlier this month, Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich announced plans to build a new settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which he said would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.

It comes after US secretary of state Marco Rubio revoked the visas of 81 delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) – blocking them from attending the general assembly.

Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.

But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.

The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza is now more than 63,000, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

It added that nine more people, including three children, died of malnutrition and starvation over Monday, raising deaths from such causes to at least 348, including 127 children.

The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage.

World

Afghanistan earthquake: A catastrophe compounded by Trump’s aid cuts

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5 hours ago

September 2, 2025

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Afghanistan earthquake: A catastrophe compounded by Trump's aid cuts

Earthquakes represent a constant danger in Afghanistan – a country which sits across three geological fault lines.

This most recent rupture near the city of Jalalabad – leaving more than 800 people dead – represents the third major quake in the past four years.

But the people of this impoverished nation are vulnerable in a number of ways.

The impact of foreign aid cuts

Since the Taliban took control in 2021, the international community has withdrawn much of the financial support which formed the bulk of government spending in Afghanistan.

Even humanitarian aid, which generally bypasses government institutions, has shrunk substantially – from $3.8bn (£2.8bn) in 2022 to $767m (£566.6m) this year.

The US government, through its international development arm USAID, provided 45% of all assistance granted to Afghanistan last year – but the Trump administration has slashed those sums.

The UK, along with France, Germany, Sweden, and others have also made deep cuts to humanitarian aid.

As a consequence, hundreds of hospitals and local health clinics in the country have been shut this year and related medical posts have been lost.

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This crisis comes as the country tries to absorb millions of people who fled when the Taliban took power. More than two million have come back this year, with Pakistan and Iran taking measures to force their return.

On arrival, they discover a country where more than half the population requires urgent humanitarian assistance, according to the UN – with millions suffering from acute food insecurity.

Large parts of northern Afghanistan have been stricken with the long-term drought.

A catastrophe compounded in a nation that ranks as one of the poorest – and most desperate – on Earth.

World

More than 1,000 feared dead in Sudan landslide, rebel group says

Published

5 hours ago

September 2, 2025

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More than 1,000 feared dead in Sudan landslide, rebel group says

More than 1,000 people are feared dead after a landslide in a village in western Sudan, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM) has said.

The rebel group said only one survivor was found, and that the village in the Marrah Mountains area, in the Darfur region, was destroyed.

SLM leader Abdelwahid Mohamed Nour said in a statement that the landslide struck on Sunday, 31 August, after days of heavy rainfall.

He appealed to the United Nations and international aid agencies for help in recovering the bodies.

The SLM controls the area located in the Darfur region in western Sudan.

Fleeing the civil war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), residents had sought shelter in the Marrah Mountains area, where food and medication are insufficient.

In January, the US determined that the RSF and its militias were committing genocide in Sudan.

The RSF rejected the claim and said: “America previously punished the great African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, which was wrong.”

The RSF has been fighting Sudan’s army for territorial control of the country since war erupted in the capital, Khartoum, in April 2023.

The ensuing devastation has been described as the worst humanitarian crisis ever recorded – with over 11 million people forced out of their homes, tens of thousands dead, and 30 million in need of humanitarian assistance.

Minni Minnawi, leader of a faction of the group, said in March last year that 1,500 troops would support the Sudanese army in the civil war against the RSF, according to the Sudan Tribune.