4 ms·

Only 29% of Transnistria is Russian ethnicity. It doesn't give Moscow the right to foment war in any of its diaspora, including Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Esto

Only 29% of Transnistria is Russian ethnicity. It doesn't give Moscow the right to foment war in any of its diaspora, including Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, etc.

notch898a 4y ago
Honestly I get the impression Transnistria gives lots of bad people, or good people who just like to do illegal things, plausible deniability. Moldova could retake it easy enough, but why eliminate a great smuggling route and cash haven. It would be like the US and Mexico actually trying to snuff out the cartel areas, of course they're not going to do that when it's so profitable not to.
- reducesuffering 4y ago
  > Moldova could retake it easy enough Well most of the world doesn't have the horrific Russian state mindset. To us civilized ones, disrupting the generally reasonable status quo to blow people up into submission is very wrong.
- chasil 4y ago
  No, Transnistria could actually take Moldova. However, in the grand scheme, this would not be an efficient use of resources. "An upgrade to the virtually unarmed Moldovan military, which received its first Piranha armored vehicles from Germany a few weeks ago, is also on the table. "At present, the country could hardly defend itself even against the separatists in Transnistria, who probably have dozens of battle tanks and other heavy military equipment, along with the large stocks of ammunition. Ukraine has therefore offered to provide military assistance if Moscow and the separatists provoke a conflict. But any suggestion that Ukraine is planning a military intervention in Moldova is absurd and at best a pretext for the Kremlin to justify its belligerence. Ukraine can certainly do without committing its military resources to a second front."
Gibbon1 4y ago
The suck thing is after the current war is done they'll all be forced to leave just like ethnic Germans got forced out of Eastern European countries after WWII.
OrvalWintermute 4y ago
Part of the problem with the Ukainian Civil War, that has been going on since 2014, is that the Russian East of Ukraine - ethnically, culturally, and economically Russian was viewed as being targeted by the Pro-Western Ukrainian from the West of the country. Putin styles himself as the "Defender of Ethnic Russians". Whether that is an excuse or a serious reason is probably a political question. Given that, and the NATO encroachment, I'd think there would be an excellent reason for Putin to want Transnistria - pushing the borders back that far gives him buffer zones that includes Mountain ranges and help shore up his defenses if he captures all of Ukraine. Because Transnistria is mountainous, it provides a barrier for invading forces, and a number of attractive choke points.

Only 29% of Transnistria is Russian ethnicity. It doesn't give Moscow the right to foment war in any of its diaspora, including Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, etc.

notch898a 4y ago

Honestly I get the impression Transnistria gives lots of bad people, or good people who just like to do illegal things, plausible deniability. Moldova could retake it easy enough, but why eliminate a great smuggling route and cash haven. It would be like the US and Mexico actually trying to snuff out the cartel areas, of course they're not going to do that when it's so profitable not to.

reducesuffering 4y ago
> Moldova could retake it easy enough Well most of the world doesn't have the horrific Russian state mindset. To us civilized ones, disrupting the generally reasonable status quo to blow people up into submission is very wrong.
chasil 4y ago
No, Transnistria could actually take Moldova. However, in the grand scheme, this would not be an efficient use of resources. "An upgrade to the virtually unarmed Moldovan military, which received its first Piranha armored vehicles from Germany a few weeks ago, is also on the table. "At present, the country could hardly defend itself even against the separatists in Transnistria, who probably have dozens of battle tanks and other heavy military equipment, along with the large stocks of ammunition. Ukraine has therefore offered to provide military assistance if Moscow and the separatists provoke a conflict. But any suggestion that Ukraine is planning a military intervention in Moldova is absurd and at best a pretext for the Kremlin to justify its belligerence. Ukraine can certainly do without committing its military resources to a second front."

Gibbon1 4y ago

The suck thing is after the current war is done they'll all be forced to leave just like ethnic Germans got forced out of Eastern European countries after WWII.

OrvalWintermute 4y ago

Part of the problem with the Ukainian Civil War, that has been going on since 2014, is that the Russian East of Ukraine - ethnically, culturally, and economically Russian was viewed as being targeted by the Pro-Western Ukrainian from the West of the country. Putin styles himself as the "Defender of Ethnic Russians". Whether that is an excuse or a serious reason is probably a political question. Given that, and the NATO encroachment, I'd think there would be an excellent reason for Putin to want Transnistria - pushing the borders back that far gives him buffer zones that includes Mountain ranges and help shore up his defenses if he captures all of Ukraine. Because Transnistria is mountainous, it provides a barrier for invading forces, and a number of attractive choke points.