Neo-Sovietism

A high-ranking official from Moldova has accused Russia of violating the law by printing ballots in the separatist region of Transnistria ahead of Russia's upcoming presidential election, as reported by Reuters via BTA.

In a recent episode of his program on state television "Rossiya 1", Vladimir Solovyov, Russia's most prominent presenter, sparked controversy by questioning Pope Francis' call for negotiations in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

A few days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the Kyiv authorities closed all their border crossing points along the country's 400-kilometre boundary with the breakaway region of Transnistria.

Supply routes were disrupted and the prices of imported goods rose immediately.

rde told Sputnik that powerful geopolitical players have emerged, such as Russia, China, India and Brazil, which are a serious counterweight to the West and NATO. "Therefore, their plans to destroy, weaken and dismember Russia are not in their favor," he said.

A Russian journalist in Moldova, Nikolay Kostyrkin, was questioned by police on Thursday on suspicion of incitement to inter-ethnic hatred and pro-Russian war propaganda.

Kostyrkin used to be editor of the gagauznews.md news website and worked for Sputnik Moldova, the Kremlin's mouthpiece in Moldova.

Given its geographical proximity to Ukraine, and the high number of Ukrainian citizens living in the Transnistria, the de-facto authorities of the breakaway Moldovan region have sought to remain neutral in the ongoing conflict.

But, despite the best efforts of its separatist leaders, it appears that the war in Ukraine may have finally spread to Transnistria.

The leadership of the Transnistrian republic is expected to declare mobilization and join the war against Ukraine after several "explosions". This morning, the situation in the unrecognized Russian enclave in Moldova worsened and people began to leave the borders in crowds.

The Transnistrian Interior Ministry, a Russian-backed separatist territory in the former Soviet republic of Moldova, said two blasts were aimed at a radio center near the Ukrainian border.

"Early in the morning of April 26, two explosions were heard in the village of Mayak in the Grigoriopol district," a statement from the separatist republic's interior ministry said.

By establishing control over southern Ukraine, Russia will secure "another route" to Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria, where Russian troops have been based since the collapse of the Soviet Union, a senior Russian military commander was quoted as saying on Friday.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu on Friday voiced deep concern about the security situation on her country's border caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.