Moldova dismisses reported drone strike in breakaway enclave as provocation

CHISINAU: Officials in Moldova’s pro-Russian, separatist Transdniestria enclave said a drone launched from Ukraine’s Odesa region blew up a helicopter on military territory on Sunday, local media said, but pro-European Moldova immediately dismissed the report.

The official Moldovan body that deals with Transdniestria, and a Ukrainian official, portrayed the incident at Tiraspol, the regional capital, as a provocation designed to sow panic in the region, after Telegram channels carried video of a small object flying into a military helicopter and blowing it up.

“The reintegration bureau has contacted other government agencies and having studied the video and exchanged information, we announce this incident is an attempt to create panic in the region,” the bureau said in a statement.

“The military equipment in the video has not been operational for several years,” it added. “The Moldovan authorities in contact with the Ukrainian side do not confirm any attacks on Transdniestria.”

News outlet RBK Ukraine quoted Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s GUR intelligence directorate, as saying the incident at a military unit in Tiraspol was “a Russian provocation.”