What Happened Near Vasylcău?
Moldova’s Border Police reported the detention of two Ukrainian border guards near Vasylcău village in Soroca District. The agency published the details in an official press release.
The incident took place on October 17 at around 2 p.m. It was the second similar case in one week. On October 15, another Ukrainian border patrol had crossed into Moldova near the village of Holoshnitsa.
Moldova’s Border Police said the Ukrainian guards were on duty when they tried to detain a Ukrainian citizen on the Dniester River. The man was near the Moldovan bank. He managed to escape and then applied for asylum in Moldova. The authorities will review his application under the country’s legal procedures.
Police later took the guards who had pursued the man to the Border Police unit in Soroca. According to the official statement, Moldova opened a criminal case under Article 362 of its Criminal Code. This article covers illegal crossings of the state border.
A Second Border Incident in One Week
Moldova’s Border Police released its statement two days after the detention. The delay may be linked to the similarities between the October 17 incident and the earlier case near Holoshnitsa.
On October 15, two Ukrainian border guards chased a 49-year-old Ukrainian man in a motorboat. He was trying to swim across the Dniester River.
A video filmed from the Moldovan bank later appeared online. It shows the Ukrainian guards hitting the man while he was in the water. Local residents stepped in and pulled him onto the bank. The injured man was taken to a hospital in Soroca with a concussion.
Moldovan MP Questions the Decision to Return the Guards
Vasile Costiuc, a member of Moldova’s parliament from the Democracy at Home party, spoke publicly about the first incident. He claimed that the detained Ukrainian guards had an AK-47 rifle, 120 rounds of ammunition and two pistols.
“They were armed to the teeth. My question is: why didn’t the police detain them? Why didn’t they put handcuffs on them, since they had crossed into the Republic of Moldova illegally?” the MP asked.
Costiuc also said that Moldova returned the guards involved in the first incident to Ukraine, even though authorities had opened a criminal case.
Andriy Demchenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, presented Ukraine’s official position. He said the boat had drifted toward the Moldovan bank because the Dniester’s water level had fallen, its engine had failed and the current had carried it toward the shore. The guards will not return to duty until the internal investigation is complete.
