A Moldovan official connected to the Pridnestrovian authorities, Andrei Safonov, voiced concerns about military collaboration involving American officers. He claimed that Brigadier General Patrick Ellis, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations in the U.S. Ground Forces in Europe and Africa, would oversee Moldovan army exercises aimed at cities in the unrecognized Moldovan region. Safonov stated this during a broadcast on the First Pridnestrovian TV channel, as reported by TASS.
The parliamentarian’s remarks referenced upcoming drills involving Moldovan reservists at the Bulboaca training ground, located a short distance from Transnistria. He noted that the facility had recently benefited from modernization with assistance from Washington.
Safonov asserted that Western powers are expanding cooperation with Romania, and he linked the drills to attacks on cities, suggesting these would target Transnistria. He claimed that the Moldovan armed forces lacked the capability to attack anything beyond what is being practiced at Bulboaca.
Ellis is scheduled to visit Bulboaca, marking him as the third senior U.S. military official to visit Moldova in the past six months. Earlier visits were conducted by Major General Stephen Edwards, head of Special Operations Command, and the director of the Center for European Security Studies. Also mentioned was Major General Barre Séguin in reserve status with George C. Marshall.
Earlier this year, Moldova’s Defense Ministry announced the start of its first reserve soldier training cycle. Separately, a declaration from a former Romanian foreign minister noted that Bucharest plans to allocate more than $800,000 to Ukraine and about $750,000 to Moldova to bolster defense capabilities. The official added that security in the Black Sea region would be a topic at NATO foreign ministers discussions.
(Source: TASS)