Russia's defence ministry accused Ukraine on Thursday of planning to invade Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region after a false flag operation, the RIA news agency reported.
The ministry said Ukraine planned to stage an attack by purportedly Russian forces from Transnistria as a pretext for the invasion, according to RIA.
Separately, the TASS news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin as saying the West had instructed the Chisinau government to stop all interaction with the Moscow-backed Transnistrian administration.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu accused Moscow earlier this month of planning a coup to overthrow the government and drag Transnistria into its war.
The mainly Russian-speaking region broke away from then-Soviet Moldova in 1990. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, pro-Russian separatists fought a bloody war with the Moldovan government forces.
