Authorities in Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region said on May 13 that two attempted attacks were carried out on a fuel depot and conscription center in the regional capital, Tiraspol.
The incidents were the latest in a series of alleged attacks reported by Russia-backed Transdniester over the past weeks amid mounting fears of a spillover from the conflict in neighboring Ukraine.
"At around 4:15 in the morning, a car stopped near an oil depot of one enterprise, from which an unidentified man got out, threw a Molotov cocktail toward the building and fled," the self-styled Interior Ministry said in a statement.
It said that some grass caught fire but it was "quickly" extinguished.
Around 30 minutes later, "two Molotov cocktails were thrown" at a conscription office in Tiraspol.
"One bounced off onto the sidewalk, the other got stuck in window grates. The fire was promptly extinguished by security," the ministry said.
Transdniester is a narrow strip of land between Moldova proper and Ukraine. It declared independence from Chisinau in 1990 and the two sides fought a brief war in 1992 that was quelled by Russian troops intervening on the side of separatists.
Russia still maintains some 1,500 soldiers in Transdniester who are said to be guarding a huge Soviet-era arms depot.
Besides the troops ostensibly guarding the depot, Russia has another 400-500 soldiers in Transdniester that have been labeled as peacekeepers since the end of the 1992 war.
Fears of a spillover from the Ukraine conflict grew after a Russian general said Moscow's invasion had the goal of creating a land corridor through southern Ukrainian territory to Transdniester.
The European Union pledged on May 4 to boost military aid to Moldova.