- The Guardian Monday 2 May 2022
(^14) National
xSubjectxxxx
Germany Scholz hits
back at criticism he was
too slow to help Ukraine
Kate Connolly
Berlin
The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz ,
has defended himself against accu-
sations that his approach to Russian
aggression has been hesitant and
timid, insisting his decisions followed
close consultation with Germany’s
allies and sought to avoid any sus-
picion that the country was “going
it alone”.
Scholz has faced fi erce criticism
even from within his own govern-
ment and last week came under
particular fi re from the opposition
leader, Friedrich Merz, who accused
him of “procrastination, dither-
ing and timidity”. Yesterday it was
reported that Merz was planning to
travel to Kyiv today.
Last week Scholz appeared to bow
to domestic and international pres-
sure by announcing that Germany
would deliver heavy weaponry to
Ukraine, in the form of self-propelled
anti-aircraft systems, in what was
seen as a sharp policy U -turn.
But while the outspoken Ukrainian
ambassador to Berlin, Andriy Mel-
nyk , said he welcomed the move,
he piled further pressure on Scholz
yesterday by insisting it did not go
nearly far enough, and demanding
more “fantasy and courage” from
Germany.
Responding to the criticism in an
interview with the tabloid Bild am
Sonntag, Scholz said: “I am making
my decisions quickly and in conjunc-
tion with our allies.” He added that
“overhasty actions and Germany
going it alone” would be viewed with
suspicion.
Scholz said: “I am not fearful
enough to allow myself to be aff ected
by such accusations. ” He insisted he
would not be cowed into changing his
strategy by his record-low popularity
‘I don’t feel safe here’
Moldovans fear Transnistria
may be drawn into confl ict
Paula Erizanu
Chișinău
W
hen a string
of mysterious
explosions hit
government
buildings in
Transnistria ,
the Moscow-backed separatist
region of Moldova, there was no
immediate claim of responsibility.
But for Pasha, a 24-year-old
journalist from the breakaway
region’s capital, Tiraspol , last
week’s blasts were a clear sign that
it was time to get out.
“There was a chance that there
would be more attacks, and it’s
no fun waiting to fi nd out where
would be hit next,” he said. Adding
to the uncertainty were growing
rumours that men in the region
would be mobilised to fi ght
alongside Russian troops across the
border in Ukraine.
So Pasha, his mother and his
friend and fellow journalist Maxim,
23, packed their essentials and
drove to the Moldovan capital,
Chișinău, where they are staying
with relatives. They are hoping
to return home, but other friends
who left Transnistria have already
fl ed to Turkey, Poland or the
Czech Republic.
With a population of 470,
people, Transnistria is a
predominantly Russian-speaking
sliver of land wedged between
the Nistru River and the Ukraine
border.
Moldova declared independence
from the Soviet Union in 1991 and
the Transnistria region seceded
from Moldova in 1992 after a fi ve-
month war in which Russian forces
(and Crimean Cossacks) intervened
on the side of the separatists.
The self-declared Transnistrian
Moldovan Republic has not been
recognised by any country – noteven Russia – but the “frozen
confl ict” has kept Moldova
partitioned ever since. Now many
fear that last week’s explosions may
herald a dangerous thaw.
Last Monday government
buildings in Tiraspol were hit
by what appeared to be rocket-
propelled grenades. In the
following days blasts hit a radio
tower re broadcasting in Russian,
and shots were reportedly fi red
near a Russian arms depot.
Separatist authorities in Tiraspol
blamed the incidents on Ukrainian
infi ltrators; Kyiv has accused
Russia of launching the attacks to
further destabilise the region; while
Moscow denounced them as “acts
of terror”.
Moldova’s pro-EU president,
Maia Sandu , blamed the blasts on
infi ghting between rival factions in
Transnistria. But the uncertainty
has prompted growing concern that
Moldova could be dragged into the
Ukraine confl ict.
Moscow has long used
Transnistria as a bargaining chip
in its eff orts to infl uence Moldova.
The region still hosts 1,500 Russian
troops, as well as 20,000 tonnes
of ammunition stored in Cobasna ,
the largest ammunition depot in
eastern Europe. Among last week’s
incidents were shootings a mile
away from Cobasna, according
to the Transnistrian authorities.
Moldovan government sources fear
blowing up the depot could result
in an explosion 10 times bigger than
the 2020 Beirut blast, where 2,
tonnes of ammunition were stored.
Despite its frail economy
Moldova has already received
about 95,000 people fl eeing the war
in Ukraine, a fi gure equivalent to
3.5% of its population, according tothe Moldovan foreign ministry.
The events of the past week
are prompting many refugees to
consider fl eeing once again. “If
war comes to Transnistria I will
leave, probably for Germany,” said
Lyuda, 35, an accountant and single
mother who fl ed Mariupol in March
and is now working for the UN high
commissioner for refugees mission
in Moldova.
Security has been stepped up on
the Transnistrian side of the border,
causing long queues of traffi c, but
at the Moldovan checkpoints down
the road security forces simply
wave vehicles through.
Moldova’s government has
pledged to step up security, but
for now life goes on as usual in
Chișinău. In Valea Morilor park,
joggers do laps around the lake as
fi sher s cast their lines. The loudest
sound is the voice of a canoe coach
training her students.
Across the city, Chișinău’s
central market is packed with
people buying food and off erings
for Paștele Blajinilor , Moldova’s
holiday commemorating the dead.
But even here there is an edge of
uncertainty. Alex, a stall-holder in
the market, had just come off a call
with a cousin in Italy, whom he was
thinking of joining, he said. “I have
a wife and a baby, and I don’t feel
safe here .”
Inside Transnitria, separatist
authorities have kept quiet about
the war raging just the other side
of the Nistru. “Transnistria’s
leaders are being cautious,” said
Alina Radu, a Moldovan journalist.
“They are not cheering on the war,
but nor are they criticising Russia’s
military aggression.
“For the fi rst time they are
isolated: both Moldova and Ukraine
have governments that are not pro-
Russian. Transnistrian elites have
two options: to follow the orders
of Putin, the most terrible dictator
today, or to have a prosperous
future with Europe.”
Valeriu Pașa , from the Moldovan
think tank Watchdog, said that
Moscow had overestimated pro-
Russian sentiment in the country.
“ Russia’s aim is to create
tension,” he said, pointing to
debunked viral reports that
Romanian troops had been
deployed near the border
with Moldova.
But Moldova, with a population
of just 2.5 million, has already
suff ered from mass emigration,
and such pressures still have the
potential to cause more harm, said
Radu. “I am afraid that the tension
might generate yet another harmful
wave of emigration – just as the
government has been trying to
bring back the diaspora.”▼ Shoppers buy food for a national
holiday at the central market in
Chișinău, Moldova ’s capital
PHOTOGRAPH: DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFPNews
War in Ukraine