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Vladimir Zhirinovsky, deputy of the State Duma and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR, ultranationalist), recently told Russian public television Rossia-1 that if the Moldovan authorities try to implement the withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria, the contingent Russian will not withdraw, but will double or even triple, while threatening Chisinau with a “bloodbath,” reports Deschide.md., quoted by Agerpres.
Zhirinovsky’s attack comes after the Kremlin and the Russian Foreign Ministry reacted harshly to a statement made in late November by Maia Sandu on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria and the evacuation of Russian ammunition from Cobasna. .
“If there is an attempt to withdraw our peacekeeping contingent, we will double or even triple it. Whose account? Almost everyone has Russian passports there. There are 250,000 Russian citizens (in Transnistria). According to the Constitution, we have They have to protect them, but they don’t ask for it. Because they have enough weapons there. “Zhirinovsky said on a political debate show on Rossia-1 on December 4.
In this regard, the Russian politician said that in the Cobasna warehouses there is enough ammunition for “an entire Third World War in Europe.” According to him, the liquidation of such a quantity of weapons is impossible, because the shock wave “will shake the whole of Europe”.
“We were prepared for a possible war, and Cobasna was our main depot. Now this ammunition cannot be liquidated or moved, because in the event of an explosion, Europe could be shaken by a shock wave,” he insisted. He added that the evacuation of ammunition is quite dangerous since it could explode on the road, and nobody wants to pay for the liquidation of weapons. “The warehouse will remain there for its basic destination”, he said.
“We must not only say, but also warn: not only will we not withdraw, but at any moment we will increase the contingent of peacekeeping forces. If even a single (Russian) soldier dies, you will be killed.” bathe in a bloodbath, you won’t even have time to get to Chisinau airport, we’ll catch you all “Zhirinovsky threatened.
During the Soviet period, the Cobasna warehouse was known as warehouse no. 1411 artillery ammunition, representing the strategic arsenal of the USSR Southwest Military District. But most of the ammunition was stored here after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), Czechoslovakia, and other former Warsaw Pact countries. According to official figures, more than 20,000 tons of weapons and ammunition are currently stored here, Agerpres notes.
In reaction to the statement of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who described on November 30 as “irresponsible” his call for the withdrawal of troops from the Transnistrian Task Force (GOTR) and ammunition on the left bank of the Dniester, Maia Sandu recalled that the minister Russian Defense Secretary Sergei Shoigu promised in the summer of 2019 that Russia would evacuate the more than 20,000 tons of ammunition from Cobasna warehouses.
In her appeal, Maia Sandu referred to the withdrawal of the GOTR, created on the remains of the former Soviet XIV Army in Transnistria, and called for the transformation of the Russian peacekeeping mission on the left bank of the Dniester into a civilian one, under OSCE mandate.
Publisher: AVD