Officials in breakaway Transnistria blame Ukrainian drone strike after military site explosion

A drone strike at a military installation in Moldova’s breakaway republic of Transnistria has destroyed a helicopter and ignited a fire. The area’s pro-Russian authorities blamed the Sunday strike on Ukraine. Russia bases about 1,500 troops in Transnistria, nominally as peacekeepers, guarding huge Soviet-era weapons and ammunition stockpiles at the military depot on Cobasna. The base hit by the drone on Sunday was in Tiraspol, the region’s capital, and it was not clear if any Russian troops were on that site. The attack comes weeks after officials in Transnistria appealed to Moscow for protection as tensions escalated with Moldova’s pro-Western government.