Ukraine must open a green corridor to Russia for the removal of ammunition from military warehouses in Kolbasna (Transnistria).
The former Ambassador of Moldova to Russia, Anatol Tseranu, stated this during an online conference with Kiev, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Russia is using Kolbasna to justify its military presence in Transnistria. She explains the presence of military material there by the fact that Ukraine allegedly opposes its evacuation through its territory. But after the meeting between Zelensky and Sandu, an agreement could appear, or at least a statement that Ukraine undertakes to organize a green corridor for the unhindered evacuation of this military material. And thus, repel the Russian argument,” Tseranu said.
He believes that after the liquidation of military warehouses, it will be possible to raise the question of the withdrawal of Russian armed forces from Transnistria.
In December, Transnistrian President Vadim Krasnoselsky said that the liquidation of weapons depots in Kolbasna is “an internal matter of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and the Russian Federation.”
According to the Russian side, there are now about 20 thousand tons of ammunition in Kolbasna, half of which are about to expire. Preparatory work for their disposal will take about a year. Russia is ready to provide the appropriate equipment and specialists. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov emphasized, the work must be carried out in compliance with the safety standards established by the Russian Armed Forces.
Warehouses in Kolbasna were created in the 40s. XX century. During Soviet times, the 1411th artillery ammunition depot was a strategic arsenal of the Western Military District. But the bulk of the ammunition was brought here after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the former GDR and Czechoslovakia.
The warehouses are guarded by three battalions of a limited group of Russian troops, OGRF, and along the perimeter are Transnistrian units.