Former Ministers of Defense Victor Gaiciuc and Vitalie Marinuta think that the National Army is ready to respond to a potential military aggression. The statements were made by the two former officials during the “Fabrika” talk-show on Publika TV, IPN reports.
Victor Gaiciuc says that the Moldovan military are tactically well-trained. “In military conflicts, training is the most important thing. Let's look at Azerbaijan, where lots of money has been invested in the technical equipment of the army, the budget in this regard being doubled, but the army isn't prepared any better”, argued Gaiciuc.
Vitalie Marinuta agrees that the Moldovan army has strong tactical training, but lacks equipment. “Over the last two years, all the European countries that have armies increased their defense budgets. In this regard, we are near the bottom of world rankings. The training of the military is strong, but we mostly rely on foreign donations for equipment”, said Marinuta.
The former ministers share the opinion that cases of bullying and hazing in the army have become less frequent. Marinuta thinks that this kind of behavior isn't specific to the military, but characterizes society as a whole. “Everyday we learn from the news that someone was murdered or an underage girl was raped or someone committed suicide. This is society and the military are members of society as well”, said Marinuta.
As regards the Russian troops in the Transnistrian region, Victor Gaiciuc said they posed no danger to Moldova's security. “There are about 1500 Russian soldiers. Most of them are trained in the peace-keeping corps and in the guards of the Cobasna ammo store. I see no danger on their part”, said Gaiciuc.
Eduard Maican, head of the Union of Veterans from the War of Independence, has a different opinion and claims that the number of Russian soldiers in the separatist region is higher. “The figure of 1500 is only official. How many they truly are, we don't know. But we also know that there are many local chiefs and paramilitary troops there, as well as Russian mercenaries. The danger is real and the authorities in Chisinau should keep this in mind”, concluded Maican.