Transnistria Raises Terrorist Threat Level, Says Three Terrorist Attacks Occurred in Republic

Earlier, the Ministry of State Security building in Tiraspol, Transnistria has been rocked by a series of explosions.

The unrecognized republic of Transnistria has imposed a red level of the terrorist threat which envisages taking additional security measures, Vadim Krasnoselsky, the republic’s president, said on Tuesday.

"The PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky held a meeting of the Security Council of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic [PMR]. The main issue is terrorist attacks on infrastructure facilities and state institutions of the republic," Krasnoselsky’s press office said.

The PMR authorities added that three terrorist attacks have occurred in the republic in recent days.

"The level of danger was recognized by members of the PMR Security Council as critical. A decision was made to introduce a ‘red’ level of terrorist threat in the country, which provides for the adoption of additional measures to ensure the security of the individual, society and the state," the office said.

In turn, Moldovan President Maia Sandu called for holding a meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday due to explosions in Transnistria, the republic's presidential office said.

"Moldovan President Maia Sandu convenes a meeting of the Supreme Security Council today due to explosions in the Transnistrian region. The meeting will begin at 13:00 [10:00 GMT,]" the presidential administration said in a statement.

After the meeting, the president will make a statement to the press.

Earlier in the day, two explosions have rocked Mayak village in the Grigoriopol district, Transnistria, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

"In the early morning of 26 April, two explosions occurred in the town of Maiac, the Grigoriopol district: the first was at 06:40 [local time, 03:40GMT], the second at 07:05," the ministry wrote on Telegram.

As a result of the two explosions in Mayak village, the two most powerful antennae of the radio centre have been disabled.

"Two of the most powerful antennae are disabled: one megawatt, the second half a megawatt. Both rebroadcast Russian radio. There were no injuries among the radio centre staff or local residents," the Ministry of Internal Affairs' press office said.

According to the ministry, law enforcement officers and emergency services were sent to the scene, Grigoriopol militiamen cordoned off the area surrounding the Mayak radio and television centre, and the Ministry of Defence's bomb squad began to examine all the shrapnel and other detritus.

A series of explosions occurred on Monday in Tiraspol in the building of the Ministry of State Security of the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.

After the incident, the Interior Ministry of the unrecognized republic published a preliminary report, saying that a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher was fired into the building. The ministry specified that windows on the upper floors of the building were broken and the surrounding area was cordoned off by police officers. There were no casualties as a result of the explosions.

Transnistria, 60% of the population of which are Russians and Ukrainians, sought to secede from Moldova even before the collapse of the Soviet Union, fearing that Moldova would integrate with Romania. In 1992, after a failed attempt by the Moldovan authorities to solve the issue by force, Transnistria became a territory de facto not controlled by Chisinau.