Ukraine accused of assassination attempt on the president of a neighboring region

The Moldovan breakaway region of Transnistria, which has close ties to Moscow and hosts Russian troops, said Thursday it had thwarted an assassination attempt on its president allegedly organized by Ukraine’s National Security Service.

The Transnistrian Ministry of State Security said an unspecified number of people were arrested in connection with an attempted attack on the region’s president, Vadim Krasnoselsky, and other officials.

Prosecutor Anatoly Guretsky said the suspects planned to detonate a car bomb near the presidential motorcade as it passed through the capital Tiraspol.

Transnistrian officials said the Ukrainian security service had ordered the assassination, but did not provide evidence.

The SBU denied the accusation, saying it “should be seen solely as a provocation orchestrated by the Kremlin.”

The separatist war began in 1990 in Transnistria, a strip of land with a population of about 470,000 that borders Ukraine.

As part of the 1992 ceasefire, a contingent of Russian troops remains there as nominal peacekeepers.

Since Russia moved troops into Ukraine more than a year ago, there are serious fears that Moscow will try to take control of Transnistria.

But in recent weeks, the Russian defense ministry has said Ukraine has plans for Transnistria, either through a false-flag attack that could be blamed on Russia, or by sending troops.

The pro-Western Moldovan government said it was monitoring developments but could not confirm the assassination claim.

The Western Journal reviewed this Associated Press article and may have revised it prior to publication to meet our editorial standards.