Any action that will threaten Ukraine from Transnistria, the temporarily occupied territory of Moldova, will receive an appropriate response; however regional destabilization should be avoided, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv following talks with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, IPN reports.

“If it happens, I think it would be a global mistake. We receive all kinds of signals, and they are quite unpleasant. But people in Transnistria should know: for us it will not be a blow, but a slap. But we will definitely respond with a blow,” said Volodymyr Zelensky.

He underlined the necessity of maintaining stability in the region. “I believe that first of all, we should all work so that there is no destabilization in the region. We demonstrate this in every possible way. We are currently at war with Russia on our land, although you have seen that there have been repeated missile strikes from Belarus,” he said.

The President also noted that the Belarusian people do not support the war against Ukraine, and that it’s Russian troops who shoot and attack from the territory of Belarus.

The statements were made in a news conference held jointly with President Maia Sandu who made a visit to Ukraine at the invitation of Volodymyr Zelensky.