The separatist from Abkhazia, Vitali Iankovski, has reappeared in Tiraspol, despite being banned from entering Moldova’s territory. In July, he participated in events dedicated to the anniversary of the alleged peacekeeping mission, but this time he had a meeting with Vadim Krasnoselski and Vitali Ignatiev.
Alongside Iankovski, another so-called diplomat from South Ossetia – Alexandr Vataman, has appeared. The leader from Tiraspol congratulated the officials on the occasion of the anniversary of their regions’ alleged independence.
Moreover, Krasnoselski allowed himself to make remarks about the Georgian aggression in Ossetia and Abkhazia, stating that the administration in Tbilisi has acknowledged its actions, while Chisinau has not done so for 36 years.
We would like to clarify that, on January 24, 2026, the authorities of the Republic of Moldova denied entry to Vitali Iankovski and declared him an undesirable person for the next five years.
The Border Police clarified at the beginning of August that Iankovski did not enter the country through the official border crossing points.
In the circumstances where Iankovski would hold both Russian and Ukrainian citizenship, it remains unclear whether he could have entered the Transnistrian region through the segment of the border with Ukraine that is not constitutionally controlled, or whether he would have used the documents of one of the two states without being identified as a person who has been denied access to the Republic of Moldova.
Maia Sandu did not rule out that Iankovski could use an identity unknown to the authorities in Chisinau.