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Photo of a bench and an installation in the colors of the Transnistrian flag that reads 'Tiraspol' in Cyrillic on a street in Tiraspol, August 16, 2021
Image: Goran Stanzl/Pixsell/imago imagesImage: Goran Stanzl/Pixsell/imago images

Transnistria

Transnistria is a separatist region in the east of the Republic of Moldova. It broke away from the former Soviet republic of Moldova in 1990, but is not recognized by any country in the world.

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All Content on this topic

A member of an electoral commission empties a ballot box

Moldova backs EU course amid 'intimidation, disinformation'

Michael Gahler, head of the EU Parliament's election observer delegation, spoke of allegations of Russian interference.
PoliticsOctober 21, 202405:42 min
A statue of Lenin near a church tower in the autonomous region of Gagauzia, Moldova

Will Gagauzia be Moldova's next breakaway region?

DW visits the autonomous region, where a pro-Russia governor is staging a fight with the EU-aligned Moldovan government.
PoliticsJune 12, 202403:35 min
Transnistrien | Brücke über den Fluss Dnister nahe Vadul lui Voda

Moldova fears war with Russia

Moldova fears renewed fighting at the border with breakaway region Transnistria.
ConflictsMarch 29, 202404:15 min
Moldau Chișinău | Energieminister Victor Parlicov

Energy minister: 'Moldova can't be blackmailed any more'

Moldova has grown more resilient to Russian and Transnistrian pressure, Energy Minister Victor Parlicov tells DW.
PoliticsMarch 23, 2024
A view of buildings in Tiraspol, the capital of Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria

Separatists in Moldova seek Russian 'protection'

Tensions between Moldova and Russia have been rising ever since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
PoliticsMarch 1, 202402:42 min
A statue of Lenin on a pedestal outside the building of the Supreme Soviet in Tiraspol, the capital of the breakaway region of Transnistria

Transnistria: Will Russia's next war be in Moldova?

Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria has asked Moscow for protection. Is Russia's next war imminent?
PoliticsMarch 1, 2024
A Tank on display in a square in Tiraspol, the so-called capital of the Transnistria.

What's behind Transnistria's call for Russian 'protection'?

The latest appeal to Moscow from the breakaway region in Moldova has raised concerns of renewed conflict.
ConflictsMarch 1, 2024
To the Point | Totale

Sweden and Finland join NATO: Strategic defeat for Russia?

NATO expansion plus Macron's remarks on ground troops. How will Putin react?
ConflictsFebruary 29, 202426:06 min
A huge coat of arms of Transnistria

Moldova: Breakaway Transnistria asks Russia for 'protection'

Pro-Moscow separatist officials in Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region have appealed to Russia for "protection."
PoliticsFebruary 28, 2024
Themenpaket Flut Italien Norditalien

Focus on Europe - Spotlight on People

Italy's devastating floods and their aftermath.
PoliticsJune 5, 202326:04 min
A man stands in a crowd of people holding the Moldovan flag

Moldova's border villages fear Russian invasion

Worries over a Russian invasion are growing, especially in villages located in the separatist region of Transnistria.
PoliticsJune 5, 202304:20 min
Anti-war demonstrators hold pro-peace signs as well as Ukrainian and Moldovan flags during a protest in solidarity with Ukraine in front of Russia's embassy in Chisinau, Moldova in April 2022

‘By defending itself, Ukraine is defending Moldova’

Moldova Foreign Minister Nicolae Popescu says his country is “managing to manage” in a “very difficult region.”
PoliticsMay 3, 202326:06 min
Soldiers peer out from a tank in theTransnistrian 'capital' of Tiraspol in April 2019

What does Moscow want with Moldova?

Western support for Moldova is growing as the country rejects Russian political meddling.
PoliticsFebruary 25, 2023
A man in a dark suit and spotted tie, with glasses, sits behind a sign that read Moldova

Moldova calls for EU sanctions on oligarchs helping Russia

Moldova's foreign minister told DW he believes "corrupt oligarchs" are working with Russia to destabilize his country.
PoliticsFebruary 20, 2023
DW interview with Nicu Popescu, Foreign Minister of Republic of Moldova

Moldova calls for EU sanctions on oligarchs

Moldova's foreign minister says oligarchs are working with Russia to destabilize the country.
ConflictsFebruary 20, 202305:39 min
Tank on a street in Transnistria, April 2019

Will the war in Ukraine spell the end of Transnistria?

Russia's war on Ukraine could inadvertently end the Transnistria conflict in neighboring Moldova.
PoliticsJanuary 12, 2023
Natalia Gavrilita, prime minister of Moldova, in the Treaty Room at the State Department, Washington, US, July 19, 2022

Moldova PM: 'Greatest threats relate to energy security'

Moldova has been hit hard by the war in Ukraine. Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita told DW about the challenges ahead.
PoliticsDecember 1, 2022
Transnistria's coat of arms

Russia warns Moldova over Transnistria troops

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned Moldova not to endanger its troops in Transnistria, or risk an attack.
PoliticsSeptember 3, 2022
Republik Moldau | Transnistrien | Tiraspol

Ukraine war: Fears of new front in southwest

DW's Mathias Bölinger visited a Ukrainian town near the border with Moscow-backed Trans-Dniester.
ConflictsMay 4, 202202:40 min
A street in Tiraspol, the capital city of Trans-Dniester

Russia eyes route to Trans-Dniester: What do we know?

Russia plans to seize southern Ukraine and open a route to the breakaway Moldovan region of Trans-Dniester.
PoliticsApril 22, 2022
Fokus Moldau Cocieri

A lonely village in Transnistria

They are citizens of the Republic of Moldova and surrounded by Transnistria's pro-Russian militia.
SocietyMarch 10, 202204:32 min
Natural gas pipelines in Moldova

Ukraine war disrupts Moldova's energy plans

Ukraine's neighbor to the west had been rethinking its reliance on Russian energy. Then the war struck.
BusinessMarch 10, 2022
Fleeing adults and children gather at the border crossing at Palanca, Moldova

Moldova reaches out to Ukraine's refugees

In the face of Russian aggression, one of Europe's poorest states has taken in tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.
ConflictsMarch 6, 2022
Spanien Fußball Champions League Sheriff Real Madrid

Sheriff Tiraspol: Moldova, Transnistria - or dreamland?

Sheriff Tiraspol's name offers a clue to their murky but successful recent past.
SoccerSeptember 29, 2021
Moldovan President Maia Sandu

'I want to be the president of European integration'

Moldova's new president Maia Sandu talks to DW about fighting corruption and seeking to draw closer to Europe.
PoliticsDecember 30, 2020
A poster in a school with the words "The Patriot" and a red star in a school in Transnistria

School choice divides families in Transnistria

Choosing what school children attend is a political proposition in the self-proclaimed separatist state of Transnistria.
PoliticsOctober 3, 2020
Moldova's Prime Minister Maia Sandu during a press conference in Chisinau, 14.06.2019.

Moldova's new PM 'determined' to clean up state

After the power struggle in Moldova, Prime Minister Maia Sandu tells DW her first priority is to clear out the muck.
PoliticsJuly 2, 2019
Transnistria border

Transnistria: An open wound in Eastern Europe

Less than 200 kilometers separate Transnistria from the EU's eastern border, but it might as well be on another planet.
PoliticsMay 28, 2019
Moldovan President Igor Dodon during an interview

Moldova needs a 'patriot' like Putin

Moldovan President Igor Dodon tells DW that his country is neither siding with the West nor Russia.
PoliticsFebruary 26, 2018
Soldiers in Transnistria

Transistria -forgotten by the international community

What is it like to be born in a country not recognized by the international community?
PoliticsOctober 15, 2017
soldiers forming living statue

Transnistria — lost in Moldova

What is it like to be born in a country not recognized by the international community? Welcome to Transnistria.
PoliticsOctober 13, 20178 images
Moldawien Transnitrien Ukraine Russland Konflikt

Transnistria in transition

Transnistria votes Sunday in a presidential election. The two candidates are pro-Moscow, but neighboring Moldova is not.
PoliticsDecember 11, 2016
Republik Moldau Vorbereitung Feierlichkeiten 25 Jahre Unabhängigkeit

Moldova: 25 years of independence

A quarter of a century after gaining independence, Moldova is still looking for a path to Europe.
August 27, 2016
Transnistrien Hammer und Sichel Tiraspol

Transnistria: A stumbling block or Moldova's big chance?

A new round talks aimed to resolve the crisis in Transnistria have not brought the warring parties closer together.
PoliticsJune 3, 2016

Explosive inheritance

In the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria is the biggest weapons depot from the Soviet-era.
December 1, 2015
FOED Moldau

Moldova: A village in fear

The enclave of Cocieri in the Republic of Moldova fears it will be annexed by Russia.
SocietySeptember 24, 201504:40 min
Transnistria flag. (Photo: Simion Ciochina, DW)

Trouble in Transnistria

Separatists in Moldova are trying to destabilize the country. Especially NGOs have a target on their backs.
May 19, 2015
Orthodox church in Tiraspol

Europe's next powder keg?

Could the Ukraine conflict repeat itself in Moldova?
March 2, 2015
Ukraine Soldat

Tough decision ahead

If the ceasefire holds, finding a status for Donetsk and Luhansk will be a priority.
September 9, 2014
Cars are driving in front of a large Hotel (Foto: Yulia Semenowa/DW)

Moldova on the alert

Pro-European leaders are concerned that the Ukraine crisis is extending to their country.
May 7, 2014
Chisinau Moldau Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Photo: Ralf Hirschberger/dpa)

EU Moldova charm offensive

The German and French foreign ministers, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Laurent Fabius are in Moldova to promote an EU association agreement. They will also travel to Georgia to strengthen ties.
April 23, 2014
Soldiers' memorial in Tiraspol Copyright: DW/Alexandra Scherle

The next Crimea?

Transnistria has the potential to become the next flash point between Europe and Russia.
March 29, 2014

Putin and Moldova

Russia is putting political pressure on Moldova not to sign an EU Association Agreement.
March 18, 2014
A woman and her daughter stand in front of a demonstration poster (Foto: Ints Kalnins/REUTERS)

Russia's blueprint

For Baltic states, Russia's Crimean policy is a reminder of not-distant-enough history.
March 11, 2014
Ukraine Czernowitzer Getto Tafel

The other Holocaust

The Holocaust means Auschwitz and Germany to most, but Jews in the former Soviet Union suffered too.
January 27, 2014
The center of the capital Chisinau Copyright: DW /Yulia Semenowa

European perspective

Moldova wants to get closer to the EU, but the poorest country in Europe remains deeply unstable.
November 14, 2013
A tank as war memorial in the Transnistrian capital Tiraspol

Transnistria talks

Germany and Russia seek a solution to a conflict between Transnistria and Moldova.
June 19, 2012
A canister of uranium

Nuclear proliferation

A report into a Moldovan raid on uranium smugglers shows US fears over Europe-Africa crime links.
October 5, 2011
A tank monument in front of the parliament building in Tiraspol, Transnistria

Unrecognized Independence

The international community supports Moldova's territorial claim over Transnistria.
December 3, 2008
South Ossetian separatists' fighters wave a Kalashnikov, and the South Ossetian Separatists' flag

Breakaway Regions

Inside Europe takes a closer look at breakaway regions across the continent.
December 3, 2008