Moldova's Breakaway Region Says Shot Down 'Ukraine Drone'

Moldova's pro-Moscow breakaway region of Transdniestr said on Tuesday it had shot down a drone that it said appeared to have come from Ukraine to conduct a reconnaissance mission.

"As a result of measures undertaken by the Transdniestr side the drone has ceased to function," the security service said in a statement.

The region's security services said the drone was conducting video surveillance before it was shot down on Sunday.

Citing preliminary information, the security service said the unmanned vehicle was launched from Ukraine by a group of individuals linked to Ukraine's security service, the defense ministry or supporters of the Right Sector far-right movement.

The security service in Transdniestr cautioned against attempts to conduct reconnaissances and inflate tensions on its borders with Ukraine.

A spokesman for Moldova's security service in Chisinau laughed off the claim, telling Agence France Presse the breakaway region had no air defenses to speak of.

Ukraine's defense ministry said it was looking into the report without providing further details.

Moldova last week warned Russia against trying to annex its breakaway region after officials in the Russian-speaking separatist territory appealed to lawmakers in Moscow to pass legislation that could see the region absorbed into Russia.

Moscow's de-facto annexation of Ukraine's Russian-speaking region of Crimea sent shivers of concern across the former Soviet Union, forcing Moldovan authorities to intensify talks with Brussels over closer ties.

Transdniestr broke away from Moldova after a civil war in the wake of the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union but is not recognized by any other state.