Transnistria rebels say drones seen, shots fired near Russia arms depot

The interior ministry of Transnistria, a Moscow-backed separatist region of Moldova bordering Ukraine, said Wednesday that shots were fired at a village housing a Russian arms depot after drones flew over.

This came after the unrecognised region has reported a series of explosions that it called "terrorist attacks", raising fears of a spillover from the war in Ukraine.

"Last night, several drones were noticed in the sky over the village of Kolbasna," the Transnistrian interior ministry said on its website.

"The drones were launched onto the territory of Transnistria from Ukraine," it said.

Kolbasna, known as Cobasna in Romanian, is located around 2 kilometres (1.25 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

It houses a stockpile of some 20,000 tonnes of munitions that date back to the Soviet era, guarded by Russian troops.

The interior ministry said that it is believed to be the largest ammunition depot in Europe.

"On the morning of April 27 at 8:45 am (0545 GMT) shots were fired from the Ukrainian side towards Kolbasna," the Transnistrian ministry added, saying that there were no reported injuries.

The region has reported explosions on Monday and Tuesday hitting the security ministry, a military unit and a Russian-owned radio tower.

This prompted Moldova to urge its citizens to keep calm and step up security measures.