Reports suggest RUSSIA is set to send 10,000 troops into a separatist region of an Eastern European country, raising concerns that Putin’s conflict may extend further across Europe.

The Prime Minister of Moldova has cautioned that the Kremlin aims to deploy forces to Transnistria, a pro-Moscow territory that’s officially considered part of Moldova.

The small landlocked region, sandwiched between Ukraine and the rest of Moldova, has been controlled by separatists for 33 years.

Transnistria benefits from substantial financial and military backing from Moscow, and local leaders have expressed their aspiration for the region to be integrated into Russia.

The region’s location between the pro-Europe governments in Moldova and Ukraine make it impossible for Putin to get soldiers in at present.

While Moldova currently has an EU-friendly government, its PM has said Russia is meddling in its upcoming election this September.

Prime Minister Dorin Recean told the FT this is likely in the hope that a more pro-Kremlin government might allow for Russian troops to be sent to Transnistria.

“This is a huge effort to undermine Moldovan democracy,” he told the paper.

“They want to consolidate their military presence in the Transnistrian region.”

Russian troops have been based in Transnistria since 1992, when the Kremlin supported the region in its war of independence from Moldova.

However, the numbers have substantially wound down over the years, with there currently only being about 1,500 soldiers fighting under the Russian banner.

But only a few of these will have actually been sent by Moscow, with most being locals who signed up.

Transnistria isn’t internationally recognised as an independent state, and is not a member of the UN.

Think tank The Institute for the Study of War forecast last October that Russia might use its ties to Transnistria “to establish long-term influence over Moldovan domestic and foreign policies”.

Recean further highlighted the ominous military threats to Ukraine and NATO that could arise from extra Russian troops in the region.

Its location to Ukraine’s southwest could raise fresh headaches for Kyiv if Russia used Transnistria to open up a new front in the war.

“You can imagine with 10,000 troops, what the leverage and pressure would be on the southwestern part of Ukraine,” he said.

But Recean also noted the area’s proximity to Romania, which is a NATO country.

If Russian forces threatened or attacked Romania – or any other NATO member – then the entire alliance would be obliged to come to its aid.

NATO Article 5 sets out that an attack on one member state is an attack on all, meaning Russian attacks against a NATO country could quickly spiral into all-out war.

Fears of a war between the West and Russia over Transnistria have been amplified by the separatist region’s leader Vadim Krasnoselsky.

He told the Russian TASS news agency: “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.”

Recean added that the 10,000-troop figure was based on intelligence assessments.

“Currently, their forces there are almost meaningless,” he said.

“But with a higher military presence in Transnistria that a Russia-leaning government can allow for, they can consolidate.”

Moldova was part of the Soviet Union before its collapse in 1991.

In recent years, it has sought to pursue closer ties with the European Union, and became an official candidate to join the EU in 2022.

A referendum held last year committing Moldova on its path to EU membership passed by just 0.7% of the vote amid what was widely believed to be a Russian interference campaign.

Recean told the FT that Russia spent the equivalent of 1% of Moldova’s GDP on influence campaigns in 2024.