Some of the headlines at DuckDuckGo, December 23:
- Orthodox priests in Moldova rebel against Moscow ruleAFP on MSN.com|1 hour ago
- Moldova plans to escape Russia's grip by exiting Commonwealth, further isolating Putinessanews.com on MSN.com|1 day ago
- Ukraine and Moldova agree on joint control at seven checkpointsYAHOO!News|2 days ago
- Moldova reinforces air defense with French GM200 radar systemAeroTime|3 days ago
- The Pro-Kremlin, Far-Right Figure Vowing To Take Down Moldova's GovernmentRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|5 days ago
If gentle reader recalls, the tactical components of the RAND plan are:
1. Arming Ukraine ;
2. Increase support for jihadists in Syria;
3. Promoting regime change in Belarus;
4. Exploiting tensions in the South Caucasus;
5. Reducing Russian influence in Central Asia;
6. Rivaling the Russian presence in Transnistria.
....MUCH MORE
Previously:
February 13, 2023: "White House 'Deeply Concerned' About Putin's Reported Power Grab":
....Here's that bit of land via BigThink's Strange Maps:
And here is the relevant section of RAND's Extending Russia: Competing from Advantageous Ground, page 130 of the report (pp. 158 of the PDF)
....MUCH MOREMeasure 6: Challenge Russian Presence in Moldova
Nestled between Romania and Ukraine with no seacoast of its own, Moldova, a former republic of the Soviet Union, is now an independent country. Transnistria is a Russian-speaking enclave within Moldova that currently hosts a Russian peacekeeping (some might say occupa- tion) force and army base. John Todd Stewart, who was U.S. ambassa- dor to Moldova from 1995 to 1998, described Moldova as “the Florida of the [Soviet Union], the republic with the most temperate climate, which was attractive to retirees. These people do not speak Romanian and have no connections with the area, period.”126 As the Soviet Union was collapsing in 1990, Transnistria—home to about a half-million Russophone residents today—broke away from Moldova.127
A brief conflict between pro-Transnistrian forces and the Moldovan police and military ended inconclusively.128Moldova never reasserted its control over the breakaway region, but no member of the United Nations— including Russia—recognized its existence either.129
Therefore, Transnistria has existed in a sort of netherworld for the past several decades....
February 19, 2023: “The Russian troops in Transnistria must be expelled.”—New Prime Minister of Moldova
February 25, 2023: Transnistria: "The largest illegal arms depot in Eastern Europe"
