Moldova expressed concern over the unauthorized movements by Russian military forces in the breakaway Transdniester territory

On June 15, Moldovan Reintegration Policy Bureau informed that the Moldovan Government notified the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) about an unauthorized deployment of military trucks and equipment in separatist-controlled region, as RadioFreeEurope reports.

Earlier, Moldovan authorities recorded around 40 trucks and other military vehicles with Russian symbols in Transdniester, a territory along the Ukraine-Moldova border.

Transdniester separatist Government denied its involvement and the Russian troops stated they would comment on it later.

Tudor Ulianovschi, Moldovan Foreign Minister, said that the UN General Assembly intends to discuss the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Transdniester on June 22.

"In the context of the crisis in Ukraine, the stepping up of military activity by Russian troops and Transdniester forces is fanning tensions in this European region," he said.

Moldovan authorities and other states in the region registered increased concern about Moscow's intentions since Crimea’s annexation in 2014 and started assisting separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Earlier, pro-Russian separatists in Transdniester declared independence from Moldova in 1990. Later, the separatists conducted was against the Government’s forces when around 1000 people were killed.

“The conflict has been frozen since Russian troops stationed in Transdniester during the Soviet era intervened on the side of the separatists. Transdniester's independence is not recognized by any internationally recognized country, but Moscow has been unofficially backing the separatists’ self-declared government,” the news agency reports.

The ceasefire agreement signed in 1992 provides the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Transdniester. Around 1400 Russian troops stay in Transdniester guarding Soviet-era arms depots. Yet, at the OSCE summit in 1999, Russia promised to withdraw the troops called Operational Group of Russian Troops.