REUTERS

An illegal paramilitary group, which operated under the guise of the so-called military-tactical games, was neutralized just outside the capital city of Chisinau, the press center of the Information and Security Service of Moldova wrote.

According to the operatives, members of the illegal group had close links to pro-Russian mercenaries in the occupied Donbas.

During the searches, law enforcement officers seized various types of weapons and ammunition, including eight F-1 grenades, 260 5.45mm rounds, 39 9mm rounds, five 7.62mm rounds, and improvised explosive devices.

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Also, military uniforms and insignia were found, used by pro-Russian militants in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine.

Read alsoFrom 50 to 100 citizens of Moldova reportedly fight against Ukraine in Donbas – media

As UNIAN reported earlier, the Ukrainian Security Service, SBU in October 2018 published a list of 206 individuals who it claimed have been fighting for Wagner private military company in Syria and eastern Ukraine, with three Moldovan citizens among them.

The new name revealed among the Moldovan fighters was Serghey Prida, 47, from Soroca in north-east Moldova. Prida was listed alongside two Moldovans who have been named previously - Veaceslav Apostol, who has already been killed in Syria, and Radu Donciu, an active fighter with the Wagner unit.

"Wagner's mercenaries are instruments of Russia's hybrid aggression against the rest of the world," the SBU said.