Moldova holds security meeting as tensions rise over breakaway region

Transnistria, which is controlled by pro-Russian separatists and permanently hosts 1,500 Russian troops as well as a large arms depot, borders western Ukraine.

Officials in Transnistria on Tuesday announced a number of new security measures, further raising concerns about a possible escalation in the breakaway state. Measures included the instalment of military checkpoints at the entrances to the cities of the region and the cancellation of the annual 9 May victory day parade.

Bob Deen, an expert on Moldova and a senior research fellow at the Clingendael Institute thinktank, said it was difficult to know whether the recent incidents were a false-flag operation by Russia or genuine acts of sabotage by anti-Russian groups.