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Tiraspol, capital of the Transnistria region (2023)

Photo: Vladislav Bachev / REUTERS

The CDU foreign expert Norbert Röttgen has warned against an expansion of the war in Ukraine given the situation in the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria.

"In the Moldovan region of Transnistria, what many have been warning about for two years is becoming apparent: namely, that the war is expanding," said Röttgen to the "Rheinische Post."

Pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's border areas also initially asked Moscow for help "before Russia annexed them."

This was followed by the Russian “full invasion” of Ukraine.

The pro-Russian separatists in Transnistria asked Russia for “protection” against Moldova on Wednesday.

According to Russian media reports, at a special congress in Tiraspol, the Transnistrian authorities decided to make a corresponding statement.

The resolution asks Moscow to "take measures to defend Transnistria in the face of increasing pressure from Moldova."

Russia then described the “protection” of the residents of Transnistria as a “priority.”

The situation in Transnistria has been tense for years.

Russia supports the separatist region of the Republic of Moldova, and Russian troops are also stationed there.

Moscow repeatedly provokes escalations in the Republic of Moldova, and with its border location with Ukraine, Transnistria is also in the immediate vicinity of war.

Transnistrian MPs want to explore the situation with a special congress scheduled at short notice - a referendum on a possible annexation of Transnistria to Russia was also on the cards.

However, according to the Russian agency Tass, accession to Russia will not be applied for.

The latest request from Transnistria is reminiscent of that made by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in February 2022.

At that time, Moscow used this as an opportunity for its large-scale attack on Ukraine.

Röttgen: Russia must fail in Ukraine

Röttgen also warned of declining support for Ukraine.

The weaker the West's support for Ukraine, "the more secure Putin feels in his imperialist aspirations."

"In order to stop this process, we have to ensure that Russia fails in Ukraine," said the CDU politician.

In the war in Ukraine that has been going on for more than two years, Kiev is increasingly finding itself on the defensive.

The Ukrainian soldiers on the front are suffering from a lack of ammunition - partly because of the delay in further military aid from the USA.

The German government has been trying for months to mobilize more support for Ukraine from its allies.

However, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) once again rejected the delivery of the Taurus cruise missile, which many politicians had called for.

Scholz justifies his refusal to deliver the cruise missiles by saying that Germany could be drawn into the Ukraine war.

jok/AFP