TRANSNISTRIA LEADER FEELS SORRY FOR UKRAINE

Transnistria president Vadim Krasnoselsky says he is "a categorical opponent to disintegration of Ukraine", and perceives the developments in and around it as "a big tragedy".

Speaking at the news conference in Tiraspol on Tuesday, Krasnoselsky offered an opinion that "if only such great a state as Ukraine starts breaking up, I just cannot imagine the size of the humanitarian catastrophe this will cause, and how it will tell on the destiny of Transnistria".

In his words, decisions taken in Kiev are often projected upon Transnistria: "Unfortunately, some deputies of the Supreme Rada [parliament] of Ukraine or some civil society representatives generate aggression around Transnistria. They are categorically wrong, forgetting that Transnistria is home to many citizens of Ukraine and to ethnic Ukrainians".

Krasnoselsky said that the martial law introduced in several oblasts [regions] of Ukraine has not affected Transnistria directly, "and there were only isolated incidents with citizens of Russia at crossing the border".

"But we kept our finger on the pulse of events. We possessed information, and acted according to the situation", the Transnistrian president said, and expressed hope that the situation will stabilize and the martial law will be cancelled soon.