With Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky planning to visit Washington in his first overseas trip since the Russian invasion began, it’s important to consider what Vladimir Putin might do next in the ongoing conflict. Look no further than Transnistria, an unrecognized breakaway region that the international community considers a part of Moldova.
Transnistria occupies a small, disputed strip of land between the Dniester River and the Moldovan–Ukrainian border. It’s a remnant of a post–Cold War frozen conflict — essentially, it’s Moldova’s Donbas. Now, Moldova is warning that Putin could seek to create a land bridge through south Ukraine to the autonomous territory.
The West must do everything feasible to prevent this. Despite the voices of some in the GOP and on the left flank of the Democratic Party, the preservation of free and independent Ukraine remains a core U.S. national-security interest. The billions of dollars we’re spending there is a fantastic investment by the U.S. government. We’re paying a fraction of our annual federal budget to degrade our second-biggest adversary after China, in what has become a quagmire of epic proportions for the Kremlin. Let’s keep it that way — and keep Russia out of Transnistria.