Kherson under shellfire and Moldova's Transnistria question, February 2023
A look back at two regional developments reported in the days before 27 February 2023, in Kherson and in relation to Moldova's breakaway region.
What did the regional picture look like on 27 February 2023? Two reports from the preceding week set the tone, one from southern Ukraine and one from its neighbour Moldova.
On 21 February 2023, Russian forces shelled the city of Kherson, as part of the southern Ukraine campaign in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Local officials said at least six people were killed and 12 others injured.
On 22 February 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin revoked a 2012 foreign policy decree. The decree had underpinned Moldova's sovereignty in resolving the political status of the breakaway Transnistria region. The move bore on relations between Moldova and Russia, and between Russia and Transnistria.
Taken together, the two reports show a regional situation in which the effects of the war were felt both in a Ukrainian city under fire and in the diplomatic status of a territory on Ukraine's border.
