Anadolu staff
17 May 2026•Update: 17 May 2026
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree simplifying the process for residents of Moldova’s breakaway Transnistria region to obtain Russian citizenship, prompting criticism from Moldovan President Maia Sandu.
Under the decree, published in Russia’s official legal information system, foreign nationals and stateless persons 18 and older who permanently reside in Transnistria will be eligible to apply for Russian citizenship through a simplified procedure.
The measure was adopted “to protect human and civil rights and freedoms” in accordance with international law principles, according to the document.
It also outlines procedures for granting citizenship to minors and legally incapacitated residents of the region.
Moldovan president criticizes decree
Sandu accused Moscow of attempting to pressure Moldova and suggested the move could be linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Probably they need more people to send to the war in Ukraine,” she said at a security conference in the Estonian capital of Tallinn.
She said many residents of Transnistria had sought Moldovan citizenship after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine because they felt safer holding Moldovan, rather than Russian passports.
“Since the war in Ukraine began, most of the people from the region took their Moldovan citizenship because they felt safer to have the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova and not the citizenship of Russia,” said Sandu.
Long-running dispute
Transnistria, a narrow strip of land along Moldova’s eastern border with Ukraine, declared independence from Moldova in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union, with backing from Moscow.
Armed clashes between Moldovan forces and separatists ended with a ceasefire in 1992. More than 1,000 people were killed in the conflict, according to various estimates.
Although unrecognized by the UN or any member state, Transnistria maintains its own political institutions, parliament, military, police force and postal system.
Russia continues to station troops in the region under what it describes as a peacekeeping mission and is believed to provide significant financial support to the separatist administration.
Negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict have been conducted under the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s 5+2 format involving Moldova, Transnistria, Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE, the EU and the US.
