This Moldovan is messing with Russian soldiers

The Russian army defends the borders of Transnistria, a self-proclaimed independent republic officially belonging to Moldova. A citizen mocked the Kremlin troops.

Moscow occupies the Republic of Moldova. All of Moldova? No. Only the region of Transnistria, which deployed Russian soldiers to its borders for protection after declaring its independence.

From the point of view of international law, there is no doubt: Transnistria is an integral part of Moldova. An observation shared by this Moldovan, who shows in a video how he makes Russian soldiers uncomfortable at the “border” of Transnistria.

Driving his car, the man approaches a checkpoint and shouts to his spectators:

No sooner said than done. The Moldovan walks slowly through customs, turning up the volume. “Ой, у лузі червона калина” (in French: Oh, there is viburnum – a plant – red in the meadow), a well-known song of the Ukrainian resistance. The Russian soldiers look at him critically and grab their radios. Two others stop him a moment later.

One of them approaches the vehicle and wants to make its occupant understand that he does not have the right to film at the checkpoint. But he does not let himself be impressed and explains that he is in his country, the Republic of Moldova, and that he has the right to do what he wants. The Russian soldier seems visibly overwhelmed by the situation and tells his comrade not to let him pass.

This map shows the current geopolitical situation in the Republic of Moldova. In dark, Transnistria, territory occupied by Russia and bordering Ukraine.Image: wikimedia commons

But the Moldovan remains imperturbable, he honks his horn and shouts to his interlocutors to let him pass. He ends up getting out of his car to lecture the border guard:

He then gets back into his vehicle and drives past the stunned soldiers to Transnistria. He then concludes: “And this, guys, is how we cross this damn checkpoint to go to Transnistria!”

(French adaptation: Valentine Zenker)