Political analyst says withdrawal of Russian troops, demilitarization of Transnistrian region priorities for European path of Moldova

The withdrawal of Russian troops and the demilitarization of the Transnistrian region are becoming essential elements for advancing the process of Moldova’s European integration. Political analyst Mihai Isac says that, without eliminating the consequences of the Russian military invasion of the 1990s, some member states of the European Union could express reservations about Moldova’s accession.

Asked by MOLDPRES, the expert commented on the significance of the statements made by Vice-President Kaja Kallas regarding the need for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria.

“These developments are turning the Transnistria file from an issue considered only a Moldovan one into an element of European and international security.”

Mihai Isac: In essence, the initiative associated with Kaja Kallas’s name is not just a political phrase, but an attempt to set, within the logic of a possible peace agreement in Ukraine, the conditions that would reduce the risk of Russia keeping its army outside Russian territory as an instrument of pressure on its neighbours. At a news conference after the Foreign Affairs Council on February 23, 2026, Kallas confirmed that she had circulated to member states a document on the concessions that the EU should expect to see from Russia and said explicitly that Russia had long ago agreed to withdraw its troops from the occupied territories in Moldova and other states, pointing out that there are numerous international obligations that Moscow does not observe.

According to official sources, one of the central points is the prohibition of Russian military presence and deployments in more neighbouring states, including  Moldova. These developments transform the Transnistria file from a problem considered solely Moldovan into an element of European and international security.

If Russia keeps troops in Transnistria, it also retains an important military lever at the border of the EU and Ukraine.

The legal and political basis is also important, given that the withdrawal of Russian troops from Moldova has long been demanded on the international political and diplomatic stage.

In 2018, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for the complete and unconditional withdrawal of Russian forces and armaments from the territory of Moldova and recalling the commitments undertaken at the OSCE Istanbul Summit in 1999. The OSCE also records the withdrawal commitment and the fact that progress has been incomplete. Also, at the 2023 Vilnius summit, NATO called on Russia to withdraw its forces deployed in Transnistria without the consent of Moldova, while reaffirming its respect for Chisinau’s constitutional neutrality.

The reintegration of this region into the constitutional space, the withdrawal of the Russian occupation forces, and demilitarization are becoming priorities in the context of the European integration process. Without eliminating the consequences of the Russian military invasion of the 1990s, some member states of the European Union could oppose the integration of Moldova.

Russia is illegally maintaining in the Transnistrian region a contingent of approximately 1,500–2,500 troops, known as the Operational Group of Russian Forces (OGRF), consisting mainly of local residents with Russian citizenship. They guard the massive ammunition depot at Cobasna (about 20,000–22,000 tons) and are equipped with Soviet-era military hardware, including T-64BV tanks, BMP-1, BMP-2, MTLB armoured vehicles and Grad rocket systems.

Chisinau constantly demands the withdrawal of Russian troops and ammunition from the Transnistrian region, but Moscow and the Tiraspol administration claim that the presence of this contingent is necessary for guarding the ammunition depots at Cobasna and for maintaining the peacekeeping mission on the Dniester, led by the Russian Federation.