International military exercises JCET-2024 (Joint Combined Exchange Training) are taking place in Moldova with the participation of the United States and Romania, the Ministry of Defense of the republic reported. They are held in the training centers of the National Army. Completion date is April 19.
"The aim of the exercise is joint training and exchange of experience between Moldovan, Romanian and American special forces, as well as increasing the level of operational cooperation between the units of the armies of the three states," the Ministry of Defense said.
Soldiers of the Moldovan special forces units Fulger (Lightning) and Pantera (Panther), as well as representatives of the State Security Service, take part in the maneuvers. Military personnel perform parachute jumps, conduct combat shootings during the day and night, and also practice field operations on specific tasks, including with the use of military equipment.
Moldova conducts military exercises with NATO countries against the background of the ongoing russian threat. Kishinev has repeatedly accused Moscow of wanting to stage a coup d'état. The President of the republic, Maia Sandu, noted that the terrorist country of russia invaded Ukraine with the intention of "creating a military land corridor" to Moldova, and then "forcibly changing" the constitutional system there.
The situation escalated at the end of February, when the authorities of Transnistria asked russia to intervene due to "pressure" from Moldova. The initiator of the appeal was the leader of the self-proclaimed republic, Vadim Krasnoselski. He stated that a "policy of genocide" is being used against Transnistria, the signs of which are "economic strangulation, physical destruction of a part of the people, denial of legal protection, and an attempt to forcibly impose a language."
Putin made similar statements when he spoke about the decision to start a war in Ukraine. This gave reason to assume that a similar scenario will be put into effect for Moldova.
After February 24, 2022, the head of the russian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Lavrov, repeatedly spoke about the fact that Moldova could become "the next Ukraine", since its president Maia Sandu is "rushing" to NATO, and stated that russia "will not give its citizens living in Transnistria to become victims of yet another Western adventure."
The Dossier Center's investigation stated that at the beginning of the invasion, the Kremlin instructed the FSB to work out the idea of opening a "second front" from Transnistria. This information was confirmed by sources of The Washington Post.
Putin wants to make Transnistria a controlled proxy entity that can be used as a springboard for hybrid military operations against Moldova, Ukraine, and NATO, analysts at the American Institute for the Study of War noted. Eventually, the Kremlin plans to turn Moldova into a satellite of russia.
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