Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR),[a] is a breakaway state in the

narrow strip of land between the river Dniester and the Ukrainian border that is internationally
recognized as part of Moldova. Its capital is Tiraspol. Transnistria has been recognised only by three
other mostly unrecognised breakaway states: Abkhazia, Artsakh, and South Ossetia.

Transnistria is designated by the Republic of Moldova as the Transnistria autonomous territorial unit with
special legal status (Romanian: Unitatea teritorială autonomă cu statut juridic special Transnistria), or
Stînga Nistrului ("Left Bank of the Dniester").

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, tensions between Moldova and the breakaway Transnistrian
territory escalated into a military conflict that started in March 1992 and was concluded by a ceasefire in
July of the same year. As part of that agreement, a three-party (Russia, Moldova, Transnistria) Joint
Control Commission supervises the security arrangements in the demilitarised zone, comprising twenty
localities on both sides of the river. Although the ceasefire has held, the territory's political status
remains unresolved: Transnistria is an unrecognised but de facto independent semi-presidential republic
with its own government, parliament, military, police, postal system, currency and vehicle registration.
Its authorities have adopted a constitution, flag, national anthem and coat of arms.

After a 2005 agreement between Moldova and Ukraine, all Transnistrian companies that seek to export
goods through the Ukrainian border must be registered with the Moldovan authorities. This agreement
was implemented after the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine
(EUBAM) took force in 2005.[18] Most Transnistrians have Moldovan citizenship, but many also have
Russian, Romanian, or Ukrainian citizenship. The main ethnic groups are Russians, Moldovans, and
Ukrainians.

Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Artsakh are post-Soviet "frozen conflict" zones. These four
partially recognised states maintain friendly relations with each other and form the Community for
Democracy and Rights of Nations.