Earlier media reports claimed that four service members were killed during the bombardment of a training ground

Moldova has denied media reports that it covered up the deaths of several Moldovan soldiers who were allegedly killed in a Russian strike at a Ukrainian training ground near the front line.

On Sunday, local media claimed that a group of Moldovan contract soldiers was present at a Ukrainian military range near Davydov Brod in the Kiev-occupied part of Russia's Kherson Region - around 50km from the front line - when it was struck by Russian forces in late June.

The reports claimed that out of ten Moldovan troops, four were killed and two were wounded. They also claimed that the families of the deceased received "enormous payouts" and were forced to sign secrecy agreements. The Moldovan soldiers were reportedly dispatched to Ukraine in a "private deal" between President Maia Sandu and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky.

The report added that the soldiers were supposed to be deployed to western Ukraine and should not have been sent so close to the front line, but Kiev violated the agreement with Chisinau.

Media reports claiming that the Moldovan soldiers were killed featured footage released by Russia's Defense Ministry on June 22 showing a strike in the area. At the time, Moscow claimed that over 70 Ukrainian troops were killed and more than ten vehicles were destroyed at the training ground, but it did not mention any foreign personnel.

The Moldovan Defense Ministry has denied the claims, dismissing them as "a gross lie" concocted with "the aim of manipulating public opinion... discrediting the National Army, and sowing panic among citizens."

On Monday, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accused NATO of turning Moldova into a "battering ram" against Russia by preparing the former Soviet Republic to host the bloc's military. The SVR also claimed that NATO plans to use Moldova's population as "cannon fodder" in a potential clash with Russia.

(RT.com)