Transnistria

How did Transnistria break away from Moldova?

In 1989 Soviet Moldova made Moldovan, written in the Latin alphabet, its sole state language. Leaders in the east, where many people spoke Russian or Ukrainian, opposed the change. On September 2, 1990, a congress of local deputies in Tiraspol proclaimed the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. Pridnestrovie is the Russian name for Transnistria.

Fighting between Moldovan and Transnistrian forces from March to July 1992 killed an estimated 700 to 1,000 people. Russia's 14th Army, based in the region, backed Transnistria. General Alexander Lebed took command of the 14th Army on June 23, 1992. On July 21, 1992, Presidents Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Mircea Snegur of Moldova signed a ceasefire in Moscow. Transnistria later put up a monument to Lebed in Bender.

At a summit of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Istanbul in 1999, Russia promised to withdraw its forces by the end of 2002. It has not. In 2003 Moldova's president, Vladimir Voronin, rejected at the last minute a Russian plan for a federal Moldova that would have kept Russian troops in the country. In a 2006 referendum held by Transnistria's authorities, 96.6% voted for independence and union with Russia. Russia never formally recognized the result.

How does Transnistria pay its way?

For years Transnistria received Russian gas while paying almost nothing for it. The bill, estimated at $8 billion to $11 billion, stayed on the books of Moldovagaz, Moldova's gas company. Cheap gas ran the region's factories and the Cuciurgan power plant, which supplied much of Moldova's electricity. A company called Sheriff, founded in 1993 by Viktor Gushan and Ilya Kazmaly, usually described as former Soviet security officers, runs supermarkets, petrol stations, television and radio, a mobile network and the football club FC Sheriff Tiraspol. Most of the region's exports go to the EU under Moldova's trade deal.

On January 1, 2025, Gazprom stopped sending gas to Moldova over a separate debt, which Gazprom puts at $709 million and Moldova at $8.6 million. Ukraine's deal to carry Russian gas ended the same day. Transnistria lost heating and hot water, and most of its industry shut down. Gas began flowing again in February 2025, bought by a Swiss-based trader and paid for, Tiraspol says, with a Russian loan. Deliveries kept breaking down. In the first half of 2025 the region's economy shrank by 23.2%.

Why are Russian troops in Transnistria?

Russia's troops in Transnistria are the heirs of the Soviet 14th Army. Russia says they keep the peace and guard the Cobasna depot near the Ukrainian border, which is thought to hold about 20,000 tonnes of Soviet-era ammunition. No international inspector has checked the depot in years. Moldova wants the troops to leave and the peacekeepers to be replaced by an OSCE civilian mission. In April 2026 Moldova barred six commanders of the Russian force, including its commander, Dmitry Zelenkov.

Transnistria has no border with Russia. Ukraine lies between them. In April 2026 a Ukrainian official said Russia's plans include a push from Transnistria to set up a buffer zone in Ukraine's Vinnytsia region, but added there was "no need to panic" because Russia lacks the forces. On October 9, 2026, the US military attaché in Moldova said Transnistria is "not a military problem" but must be resolved for Moldova to join the EU.

Will Moldova and Transnistria reunite?

Moldova wants peaceful reintegration. Moldova became a candidate to join the EU in June 2022 and opened membership talks in June 2024. In September 2025 President Maia Sandu's party won a majority in parliament. Talks between Moldova and Transnistria now take place only between the two sides' negotiators, who met three times in 2026, most recently on September 24, without a breakthrough. The wider format that included Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE, the EU and the United States last met in October 2019.

Russia is tying residents closer to itself. In May 2026 President Putin made it easier for Transnistrians to get Russian citizenship. Sandu said Russia "probably" needs "more people to send to the war in Ukraine." More than 60,000 people had applied by August, Krasnoselsky said. In September 2026 Russia opened polling stations in Transnistria for its parliamentary election despite Moldova's protest. Krasnoselsky said he was ready to hold a new referendum if "all international participants" accept the result.