On January 18, the Moldovan delegation at the Joint Control Commission demanded a review due to the Russian military exercises on December 22 near the administrative border between the right and left banks of the Dniester River.
According to NewsMaker, the Moldovan side reminded that Russian military conducted exercises at posts of joint "peacekeeping" forces using combat weapons, equipment, and gear, some of which were not even declared as equipment of the military contingent.
Members of the Moldovan delegation in the Joint Control Commission signed a statement expressing disagreement with the violation of the commission's basic agreements. They emphasized that simulated gunfire "causes alarm among peaceful citizens due to the frightening sounds of shooting and possible undesired escalation of the situation."
Furthermore, military comedians were present during the exercises, "whose presence, without the decision of the Joint Military Command, blatantly violates the provisions on command in areas with an elevated security regime."
Moldova reported violations of the security regime by Russian troops in Transnistria. However, in December 2023 and January 2024, due to illegally established posts by Transnistrian structures, OSCE monitoring groups were not immediately allowed through, despite prior notification of the movement of their representatives.
"In this regard, the Moldovan delegation requested an investigation into these violations and the development of new rules for conducting exercises to prevent similar unlawful actions by one of the military contingents of the Joint Peacekeeping Support Forces," emphasized officials in Chisinau.
The Joint Control Commission is a joint military command structure involving Moldova, Transnistria, and Russia, operating in the demilitarized zone on the border between Moldova and Ukraine.
The Russian military contingent in Transnistria is officially known as the Operational Group of Russian Forces (OGRF). The OGRF was created from remnants of the former 14th Russian Army, which was stationed there in the early 1990s and actively participated in the Transnistrian conflict.
