Russia demands a “special status” for certain territories in Ukraine and Moldova as a device to promote territorial secession processes. Moscow encourages local Russophile groups to claim a “special territorial status” or orchestrates such demands on their behalf, instigating state fragmentation. The first case study is that of Russia’s demand for a “special status” on behalf of Transnistria. Following Russia’s assault on Ukraine, such demands seem to proliferate. Moscow insists on recognition of a “special status” for the Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics.” Most recently, that same demand has been aired in Ukraine’s Odesa province and in the Moldovan parliament, …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation