The separatist official, Vitali Iankovski from Ossetia, declared undesirable in the Republic of Moldova for five years at the beginning of 2026, was photographed during an event held in Tiraspol. It was about marking the anniversary of the so-called peacekeeping mission.
The image with Iankovski was published by the alleged supreme soviet from the separatist region of Moldova. In the photo, he appears alongside the so-called Transnistrian foreign minister Vitali Ignatiev, reports realitatea.md. The self-proclaimed representation of South Ossetia in the Transnistrian region also confirmed his visit to Transnistria, on July 29.
The Border Police stated that the said individual did not cross the state border crossing points after January 24, 2026, when they were not authorized to enter Moldova.
On the other hand, the publication Zona de Securitate writes that the separatist official might also hold Russian citizenship, as well as Ukrainian. It is unclear whether the individual could enter Moldova through Ukraine or if he could use the documents of one of the two states for this purpose, without being identified as a persona non-grata.
“It is a defiant gesture towards the authorities of the Republic of Moldova. Personally, I do not know how this individual got to Tiraspol. We have state institutions that should take this matter into account,” commented the situation the Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration, Valeriu Chiveri.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs from Chișinău, Mihai Popșoi, mentioned that this is not a matter of foreign policy and directed the journalists towards the Border Police.