Vladimir Putin wants to deploy 10,000 soldiers in a separatist region on Ukraine‘s border and put a pro-Kremlin government in in place in Moldova to make it happen, the country’s PM claims. Transnistria is a “frozen conflict” zone located on a narrow strip of land between the Dniester river and the Moldova–Ukraine border.

It broke away from Moldova following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, but it is not recognised as a state by the international community, which regard it as part of Moldova. The de-facto government in the region has close ties with Russia, which backs it economically and militarily, and some Russian troops are already stationed there as a deterrent against any attempt to reintegrate the region with Moldova.

There are thought to be around 1,500 soldiers under the Russian flag at present, as per The Financial Times.

The region is landlocked between Ukraine and Moldova, which has EU candidate status and a government set on accession to the bloc.

An occupation would require Russian troops moving through hostile states, experts are sceptical about whether it would be feasible.

But speaking to the newspaper, Moldova’s Prime Minister Dorin Recean alleged that Moscow was meddling in the country’s upcoming parliamentary election set to be held in September, hoping that a government more aligned with its aims could allow them to boost the number of soldiers on the ground.

Mr Recean said: “This is a huge effort to undermine Moldovan democracy,” and that his government was entirely focused on its path towards becoming an EU member state.

He alleges Russian efforts to interfere in their democratic process involved online propaganda and illegal cash transfers to political parties and voters. He added that an amount equivalent to 1% of Moldova’s GDP was spent on influence campaigns last year.

The country’s referendum on EU membership in October passed by less than 1%, after analysts anticipated a comfortable win for the pro-EU campaign. Mr Recean’s government claimed a Russian influence campaign had impacted the result.

“They want to consolidate their military presence in the Transnistrian region,” the Moldovan leader claims.

He also warned over the wider impact of a large contingent of Russian soldiers being stationed there.

“You can imagine with 10,000 troops, what the leverage and pressure would be on the south-western part of Ukraine,” said Mr Recean. “But also close to Romania, which is a NATO member state.”

The Kremlin is yet to respond to the allegations.

Transnistria’s President Vadim Krasnoselsky has previously warned that conflict in the region could spark a Russia-NATO war.

Speaking to Russian state media, he said: “A war in Transnistria would mean a direct conflict between Russia and NATO. I don’t have the slightest doubt about it. Everything is closely intertwined here. Both Romania, a NATO member, and the Russian Federation have interests here.”

NATO has a mutual defense pact, called Article 5, which states that an attack on one ally is an attack on all. It means, in theory, that an attack on a member of the military alliance could trigger a massive wider conflict on the continent.