General Prosecutor’s Office opened criminal case over pollution of Dniester River

The General Prosecutor’s Office has opened a criminal case regarding the pollution of the Dniester River. Prosecutors will investigate the actions that led to the current state of the river.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the Environmental Crime Combat Section initiated proceedings ex officio on March 16 of this year, following official information contained in the Government Decision of March 15 on declaring an environmental alert in the Dniester River basin.


“The right to a healthy environment is a principle with constitutional value, enshrined in Article 37 of the Constitution, with every person having the right to an environment that does not endanger life and health. At the same time, national legislation provides for the protection of the country’s entire water potential, prohibiting the discharge into surface waters of petroleum products or other polluting substances. In this context, the General Prosecutor’s Office ordered the registration of the criminal case in order to investigate the acts that led to the consequences produced. Prosecutors are taking all measures provided by law to ensure a complete and objective investigation of the circumstances of the case,” the institution announced.


During the night of March 6 to 7 this year, the Novodnestrovsk Hydropower Complex was targeted by a Russian missile and drone attack, with the explosions causing a massive discharge of technical oils and other petroleum products into the Dniester River. Four days later, on March 10, pollutant slicks were identified on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, and laboratory tests carried out by the Environment Agency confirmed that maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants had been exceeded.

Following the incident, the supply of drinking water was suspended in the municipality of Bălți and in other localities of the country, and fishing was banned on the section between Naslavcea and the Dubăsari reservoir. To manage the situation, the National Army was mobilized and the EU Civil Protection Mechanism was activated. In addition, the Government introduced an environmental alert status for the Dniester basin for 15 days.

Partners from Romania came to the aid of the Republic of Moldova. They provided three technical assistance packages, support considered vital and strategic in the context of the ecological crisis triggered on the Dniester River. Recent laboratory tests indicate a positive trend, with the volume of petroleum substances present in the water flow progressively decreasing. Nevertheless, the visible presence of oil films on certain sections of the Dniester requires that restrictions remain in place.