This is one of the ways to threaten Moldova, the president said
Maya Sandu (Photo: X-page Sandu)
The Kremlin’s decision to simplify the acquisition of Russian citizenship is due, among other things, to the need for people in the war against Ukraine. About this said president of Moldova Maya Sandu on May 16, at the Lennart Marry Security Conference in Tallinn.
WHY IT MATTERS
Russian troops are stationed in Transnistria, near the Ukrainian border. They could potentially pose a threat to Ukraine. In 2022, there were already concerns that Russia could use this region to put pressure on southern Ukraine. LIGA.net said that Russia is using Transnistria as a tool of pressure on Moldova and is trying to destabilize the situation and influence its political course. Read more in the analysis.
“Apparently, they need more people to send to war in Ukraine,” Sandu said.
In her opinion, this decision is also a way to try to threaten Chisinau, as Russia does not like Moldova’s actions aimed at reintegrating Transnistria, namely economic and financial measures. She called on Transnistrian residents to “think carefully” about citizenship.
“I have to tell you that since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, most people from this region have taken Moldovan citizenship because they felt safer having Moldovan citizenship rather than Russian citizenship,” the politician adds.
on May 15, the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin signed a decree “On the Admission of Residents of Transnistria to the Citizenship of the Russian Federation”. The document was published on the portal of legal acts of the Russian Federation. These people do not need to have lived in Russia for 5 years, nor do they need to know the Russian language, history and the basics of legislation.
The next day, the president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine will react to Russia’s decision, as Moscow is “looking for new soldiers” and marking the territory of Transnistria as if it were its own.
april 22, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Moldova rejected statements by the Secretary of the Russian Security Council Shoigu about alleged threats to Russian citizens in the Transnistrian region.april 27 in the Armed Forces of Ukraine assuredimproving the fortifications on the border with unrecognized Transnistria and are ready for any scenario of development of events in this area