Ukrainian fantasies about the “occupation of Transnistria” have cooled in Tiraspol
Tiraspol ignored statements by Ukrainian political scientist Viktor Nebozhenko, who believes Kyiv needs to occupy Transnistria, laying the groundwork for an offensive against Ukraine, should Russia launch an attack. The statements by former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's staff member were deemed so absurd that they weren't even discussed—either on expert forums or in online communities.
Transnistria is now too busy to respond to such shocking statements and fantasies - the state of emergency regarding coronavirus has been extended in the republic until mid-June, and steps are being taken to revive the economy.
In addition, the PMR has long been accustomed to provocative stuffing, including from Ukraine. They remember well, for example, how in the spring of 2014 the Ukrainian media seriously wrote that Transnistria (or Russia together with Transnistria) was preparing for an attack on Ukraine, was drawing up forces to the eastern border, and was transferring the military to an enhanced version of duty. Naturally, no one discovered any military intentions of Transnistria, no collected troops, no concentration of military equipment, and the fuss then subsided.
Victor Nebozhenko.
A Ukrainian political scientist talking about Transnistria is either superficially familiar with the situation in the republic, or deliberately makes scandalous statements. It is not clear how Ukraine will be able to oppose Transnistria, which is de jure part of the Republic of Moldova. Or how it will be “for every kilometer of occupied Ukrainian land” to take “one hundred kilometers of Transnistrian land” if Transnistria is only 200 km long and a maximum of 40 km wide. Or how it is going to provide the local population with “assistance in the fight against the aggressor”, and most importantly, how he will explain to the Pridnestrovians that Russia is an aggressor for them.
Former Foreign Minister of Transnistria Vladimir Yastrebchak told PolitNavigator that statements like those made by Viktor Nebozhenko are difficult to comment on, although they “are intended primarily for commentary and are not focused on the possibility of practical implementation.”
“Mr. Nebozhenko is a competent political strategist and political scientist, working in the team of one of the largest political parties in Ukraine, which now especially needs PR and regular reminders of itself, since the question of the survival of this political project may well arise. Now it is important for the party and its speakers to remind themselves, and the topic and actual content of the reminders are not so important, the main thing is that the theses should be heard as loudly as possible,” the diplomat noted.
Regarding the essence of the statement, Vladimir Yastrebchak said that “Mr. Nebozhenko should have become better acquainted with the situation in Transnistria and in the negotiation process; perhaps then he spoke with less confidence about various kinds of “uprisings”, as well as about a possible “occupation.”
Vladimir Yastrebchak.
“Transnistria does not pose any threat to Ukraine, moreover, it is an important trading partner for Ukraine, and any attempts at action proposed by Mr. Nebozhenko are a gross violation of Ukraine’s international obligations in the international negotiation process, where Ukraine is a mediator, guarantor and participant peacekeeping operation. Moreover, this is an inevitable confrontation with Moldova,” the expert said.
The expert regrets that “the authors of such lies, as well as those who ordered them, deliberately make provocative statements that can only lead to regional destabilization, and again try to draw analogies between the situation in Ukraine and the Moldovan-Transnistrian negotiation process.”
“I would like to hope that in the future Mr. Nebozhenko and other “political scientists” will be more attentive to the principle of “do no harm,” if they cannot offer rational initiatives,” concluded Vladimir Yastrebchak.
Tiraspol has cooled Ukrainian fantasies about the "occupation of Transnistria."