An explosion occurred over the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova. The warhead of the 1968 S-300 missile fell in the city of Kitsan, located 10 kilometers from Tiraspol, the capital of the unrecognized separatist republic.

The co-chairman of the United Control Commission, which operates in the Security Zone of the frozen Transnistrian conflict of 1992, Oleg Belyakov, who represents Tiraspol in this format, told HotNews.ro more about this unprecedented incident for the Transnistrian region.

According to Oleh Belyakov, no one was injured as a result of the incident, but local residents were frightened.

“The incident happened at approximately 00:50 on September 25, that is, that night. A rather powerful explosion occurred in the radius of Kitsan, but not on the ground, but in the sky.

After this explosion, part of this rocket fell into a house on Tkatsenko Street. He was later recognized by military observers of the Joint Control Commission. The area was cordoned off. As a result, it was established that a part of the missile, namely a bursting warhead, was located at the scene.

It was a 1968 S-300 missile. It did not break, most likely for technical reasons. With the help of geneticists, this ammunition was recovered. Examinations and other investigative actions are currently being conducted. All documents will be sent to the Joint Control Commission and, most likely, we will discuss this topic in order to establish the reason for the appearance of this object in the security zone,” Oleg Belyakov told HotNews.ro.

The warhead of the rocket fell on the garden of a local resident. In this case, unrecognized structures in Tiraspol will initiate a criminal case.

“He got into a household with 10 hectares of garden, right in the garden, where he grew potatoes. This incident caused great concern among the population as this is an area where the population is very dense.

People did not sleep almost until late at night. We’re going to find out where that rocket came from. To be honest, I can’t comment on anything specific now. Specialists should draw conclusions. Criminal proceedings will definitely be opened, an investigation will be conducted, and it will be established who this rocket belongs to. Witnesses will be heard. This is a rather long process,” Belyakov said.

Did Russia launch the rocket?

The representative of the Transnistrian region also noted that he cannot comment now on whether this missile was launched by Russia.

But was there a risk that this part of the rocket could explode?

Oleg Belyakov: I do not deny it. Military specialists worked. They concluded that it can be transported, that is, taken away from the scene.

Is it true that this night in the Transnistrian region, several explosions were heard from the bombing of the port infrastructure?

The security zone is a little further from the border. Here in this part we only heard two explosions.

If this rocket exploded, how many people would be in the radius of this explosion?

To be honest, it’s hard to estimate. We have never had a rocket fall on the territory of Transnistria. The striking ability of this missile can only be appreciated by military experts.

You can’t tell us that this missile was launched by Russia?

We just don’t know.

Previously, there were several incidents when fragments of the rocket fell on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, in the northern part of the country. One of the latest cases happened in Brychany in January of this year. In this context, the Ambassador of the Federation in Chisinau, Oleh Vasnetsov, was summoned several times to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.

RENEWAL. The authorities of Chisinau reacted to this incident:

“Regarding the likely discovery of a missile in the Transnistrian region, we inform you that military observers of the United Peacekeeping Forces went to the scene of the incident. At this stage, the origin of the identified object is unclear, and its trajectory has not been confirmed by independent sources,” said government spokesman Daniel Vaudet.