Cobasna
Cobasna
Кобасна (Moldovan Cyrillic) Колбасная (Russian) Ковбасна (Ukrainian) | |
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Coordinates:47°46′47″N29°12′35″E/ 47.77972°N 29.20972°E | |
Country (de jure) | ![]() |
Country (de facto) | ![]() |
Elevation | 152 m (499 ft) |
Time zone | UTC+2(EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3(EEST) |
Cobasna(Moldovan Cyrillic:Кобасна;Ukrainian:Ковбасна,Kovbasna;Russian:Колбасная,Kolbasnaya) is a commune in northernTransnistria,Moldovathat is composed of three villages: Cobasna, Cobasna station, and Suhaia Rîbnița. It is controlled by the self-proclaimed authorities ofTransnistria.It is located 2 km from the border withUkraine,inRîbnița District.
Cobasna is the site of aRussian,and formerlySoviet,ammunition depotknown as theCobasna ammunition depot.It has been referred to as the largest inEastern Europe.
History
[edit]Kiełbaśna, as it was known in Polish, was a private village of theZamoyski,Koniecpolski,Lubomirskiand Moszyńskinoble familiessuccessively,[1]administratively located in the Bracław County in theBracław Voivodeshipin theLesser Poland Provinceof theKingdom of Poland.[2]Following theSecond Partition of Poland,it was annexed byRussia.In the 19th century, it remained a possession of Polish nobility, passing to the Jurjewicz family.[1]In the late 19th century, it had a population of 1,167.[1]
In 1924, it became part of theMoldavian Autonomous Oblast,which was soon converted into theMoldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic,and theMoldavian Soviet Socialist Republicin 1940 duringWorld War II.From 1941 to 1944, it was administered byRomaniaas part of theTransnistria Governorate.
The majority of the original ammunition has either disappeared or has been removed from Cobasna underOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe(OSCE) supervision. Military equipment which was impractical to remove has undergone on-site destruction as per Moldovan demands that the "weapons dump" of Transnistria be removed.[citation needed]In 2003, the process to remove the arms broke down when theKozak memorandumwas rejected by Moldovan presidentVladimir Voronin.Today, around 22,000 tons of military equipment and ammunition reportedly remain there,[3]guarded by Russian troops.[4]1,500 troops of theOperational Group of Russian Forcesare stationed in the area.[5]
On 27 April 2022, theMinistry of Internal Affairs of Transnistriareported thatdronesflew over Cobasna and that shots were fired on the village. The ministry claimed that the drones came from Ukraine. Severalattackshad recently occurred in Transnistria at the time.[6]They occurred during the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,and may have been afalse flagoperation by Russia or Transnistria itself.[7]
According to the 2004 census, the population of the village was 1,396 inhabitants, of which 334 (23.92%) Moldovans, 936 (67.04%) Ukrainians and 107 (7.66%) Russians.[8]
Notes
[edit]- ^Transnistria'spolitical statusis disputed. It considers itself to be an independent state, but this is not recognised by anyUN member state.TheMoldovangovernment and the international community consider Transnistria a part of Moldova's territory.
References
[edit]- ^abcSłownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom IV(in Polish). Warszawa. 1883. p. 37.
{{cite book}}
:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^Krykun, Mykola (2012).Воєводства Правобережної України у XVI-XVIII століттях: Статті і матеріали(in Ukrainian and Polish). pp. 530–531.ISBN978-617-607-240-9.
- ^(in Romanian)Cristian Delcea,"Agonia limbii române în Transnistria",Adevărul,3 December 2012.
- ^"Prime Minister of Moldova calls for withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria".
- ^"Russian Military Games on Dniester Anger Moldova | Balkan Insight".15 August 2018.
- ^"Moldova's separatist Transdniester claims 'drones seen, shots fired' near huge ammo depot".Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.27 April 2022.
- ^"Possible 'false flag' attacks in separatist Moldovan region of Transnistria raises concerns Russia plans to expand conflict".Australian Broadcasting Corporation.27 April 2022.
- ^The Transnistrian census of 2004 data by nationality athttp://pop-stat.mashke.org/pmr-ethnic-loc2004.htm