Great report
Moldova, the Transdniestrian threat
Audio 7:30 p.m.
Ukrainian refugees near the town of Palanca after crossing the Moldovan-Ukrainian border checkpoint on March 1, 2022. © AFP/Nikolay Doychinov
By: Oriane Verdier Follow
10 mins
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, more than 3 million people have fled the country.
In the south-east, Moldova has already welcomed the equivalent of 4% of its population, twice as much has also passed through the small country to then continue towards Europe.
But while they serve as hosts, the Moldovans also fear that they too will have to flee.
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"Moldova, the Transdniestrian threat", a great report by Oriane Verdier, directed by Pauline Leduc. (Rebroadcast March 22, 2022)
At the southern tip of Moldova, the Palanca border post has been welcoming Ukrainian families since February 24 who are fleeing the regions of Mykolaiv, Mariupol and Odessa.
Facing these imposing porticoes surrounded by fences, an old lady struggles to escape what seems to be her daughter.
She refuses to get on the bus which will end up completely tearing her away from her country and the loved ones she left there.
"
Let go of me
", she cries with tears in her eyes, "
my heart hurts, you want me to die here
?
The old lady sets off with a determined step towards the fields which surround this large parking lot, then sets out again towards the Ukraine to finally come to a standstill again in the face of the cold and brutal reality.
There, standing side by side, despite the icy wind from the Black Sea whipping their faces, the two women stand upright facing Ukraine just a few meters away.
The bus in which they will not board takes travelers a few kilometers further, to the next stage of their journey, an “
improvised station
” on a vacant lot.
New buses then leave for the Romanian and Moldavian capitals, or for the nearest railway station.
Evghenia has barely got off the bus from the border when a friend comes to hug her.
Tatiana is Moldovan, she used to visit her friend every summer for 15 years in her house by the sea near Odessa.
Since February 24, Russian boats have multiplied on the horizon.
"
They were five at the beginning, they are about fifteen now
," says Evghenia
.
And bombs also fell, two in the valley near our house, two on the military village and one more on the electrical station.
The fifty-year-old therefore put her cat in a crate and packed her bags.
Her husband accompanied her to the border post to finally say goodbye to her, men aged 18 to 60 are prohibited from leaving the territory.
The two friends rush into a car that will take them to Chișinău, the Moldavian capital.
“
I prepared all our specialties, borsch, salads, breaded cutlets.
We, the Moldovans, know how to receive
, ”proclaims smiling Tatiana before slamming the door.
Soviet era brothers
It is in Chișinău that a large part of the Ukrainians who have decided to stay in Moldova are found.
The country is small and one of the poorest in Europe, but it shares the same Soviet past with Ukraine and therefore the same second language: Russian.
Staying in Moldova allows you to stay close to your land for those who hope to return any day.
Quickly, the Moldovan government and the population organized themselves to receive their neighbours.
An association, “Moldova for Peace”, was born.
It is made up of volunteers and is now officially integrated into the infrastructure put in place by the authorities to respond to this challenge: to welcome a flow of refugees who currently represent 4% of the Moldovan population, in a country itself in crisis.
In the great cultural center of railway workers, a collection of donations was organized.
An old man there between his arms laden with large plastic bags full of clothes.
"
It's from my whole family.
The Ukrainians are our brothers and I fought in Transnistria, I know what it is to be in need.
At the time, others helped us too.
»
By evoking this war between the pro-Russian separatists and the very young independent Moldova, Vassili's voice breaks.
Since February 24, he has not slept.
“
We fear that Putin wants to take Moldova too.
The Russian 14th Army is still in Transnistria.
Besides, they have tons of weaponry and Russian soldiers in separatist territory.
We, opposite, we have neither armament nor anything.
But I will stay to defend my country if necessary.
»
The number of Russian soldiers present in Transnistria is estimated at 1,500 and the number of paramilitaries trained by Moscow at 10,000.
Moldova does not have more than 6,000 soldiers.
If Moscow turned to this country as big as Belgium, there would therefore be no war, recognizes Ion Hadârcă, vice-president of the first Moldavian Parliament after the country's independence.
For him too, the conflict that is taking place a few kilometers away has awakened the ghosts of the past.
The threat is embodied by the territory of Transnistria, like an intact fragment of the former USSR.
The self-proclaimed independent republic stretches for 240 kilometers along the border with Ukraine.
“
The essence of the conflict was to stop the rapprochement between Moldova and Romania
, explains Ion Hadârcă
.
The 1st
March
1992, independent Moldova was recognized by the United Nations.
On the same night, March
1-2
, the conflicts began.
The tanks entered Tighina.
Police stations were attacked in several localities.
Five months later, on
July 25, a peace treaty was signed in Moscow between Russia and the Republic of Moldova, with the participation of representatives of Transnistria.
Russia therefore indirectly acknowledged that it had provoked this armed conflict.
This agreement made it possible to introduce Russian troops called peacekeepers on our territory.
As our saying goes
, “When the wolf was appointed to guard the flock”…
”
"
When the wolf was appointed to guard the flock
"
To go to Transnistria, you must first pass in front of a checkpoint of these famous Russian peacekeeping forces.
A few meters from the border post, we then branch off to enter the last village before the separatist territory.
On the edge of the main road, passengers wait for the bus to the neighboring town in Transdniestrian territory.
"
What are you doing here
?"
, asks one of them with a worried look
.
“
You should have taken another direction.
From there, you will come across the border, the police of the so-called "Transnistrians".
You are going to have problems!
We are not free in Putin's Russia.
It's a Moscow enclave here.
»
This man himself lives on the Transdniestrian territory, he refuses to leave his house despite the authoritarianism of the authorities.
“
You know, you have to be careful who you talk to.
Criticizing the power can earn you prison or worse, you are eliminated, or you disappear according to the methods of the KGB.
»
The man gets on a bus in the direction of Bender in Russian, Tighina in Romanian.
Just as cities have two names here, in the grocery store of this small village, Vica accepts both the Moldovan lei and the Transdniestrian ruble which is only recognized in the small territory.
“
Here we are in a particular conflict zone.
We are next to Transnistria which is not recognized.
So we can sell the bread in Transnistrian ruble and the rest is in lei.
How can I explain this to you?
In 1992, after independence, we had a war.
The Russian people wanted to separate from Moldova.
They spoke Russian and wanted to stay close to Russia.
So there was a war.
They got this far and couldn't go any further.
»
In 1992, then a granddaughter, Vica had to crawl under bullets while her father defended the village.
Today, the latter is 70 years old and, despite his worries, he knows that he will not find the strength to take up arms again.
Vica is unmarried and lives alone with her sister.
A large part of the men left for Europe to seek work.
In front of the store, an old lady remembers the war, too.
But from another point of view.
“
I lived in a neighborhood of Bender with my parents.
A rocket fell near our house.
Word of honor, even today, I am grateful to the Moldovan who pulled it.
He could have targeted our house, he didn't.
There were humans among the Moldavians, all the same, not all of them were dogs.
»
This lady, who prefers to remain anonymous, lives in Transnistria, so she follows Ukrainian news via Russian media, the only ones broadcast in the area.
“
It's a civil war because of the Benderovtsa, the fascists who attack the population.
Next to her, another lady can't help but react.
“
You are confusing
:
the Russians are bombing Ukraine.
Ukrainians are defending their homeland.
Why is Putin's dog doing this
?
He kills innocent people.
»
The two women debate without coming to an agreement.
Beside her, a lady asks them to stop these political discussions.
“
I too understood that there were Ukrainian nationalist terrorists who were attacking the pacifist population, the ordinary people.
But who knows what the real situation is
, ”the forty-year-old cautiously explains to us.
“
You know I'm not a person who is interested in politics.
I don't like to delve into these subjects.
We have a quiet way of life here and hope that everything will be fine.
Everyone has their point of view and each nationality defends its interests.
All are asking the state to be protected.
That's how I see things.
»
Trapped between two worlds
If 30 years after the end of the conflict, Moldova still seems trapped between Russia and the West, between the Romanian and Russian languages, it is also because the whole country is energy dependent on Moscow.
Its gas thus comes entirely from Russia and 80% of its electricity comes from the plant located in Transdniestria.
"
In general, the Soviets have concentrated 60
% of industry and the economy of Moldova on the left bank of the Dniester, in Transnistria
"
, summarizes Ion Hadârcă.
“
Currently, for example, the plant in Transnistria has only agreed to supply us with energy for one month.
Moldova, however, emerged from the neutrality it had been trying to maintain for thirty years by applying to join the European Union on March 3, the same day as Georgia and a few days after Ukraine.
Ion Hadârcă hopes that the international community will be able to learn from what is happening in the neighboring country: "
Moldova has real potential as a provider of peace and balance, but until now we were simply treated as a buffer between the West and the East.
We already have many projects underway with the European Union.
»
But this process may take several years.
For now, many Moldovans have already packed their bags and thought about a place to take refuge.
Many already have a European passport thanks to their Romanian ancestors.
All of our daily, live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
© FMM Graphic Studio
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