Pridnestrovians remember the tragic events of 30 years ago, inscribed in the history of the country as the Day of the Bendery tragedy. On June 19, 1992, the perfidy of the nationalists of Moldova manifested itself in full. The armed aggression against the people of Pridnestrovie started on March 2 did not give the results expected by Moldova by mid-June: the inhabitants of the young republic selflessly defended its independence, attempts to break the resistance of the Pridnestrovians were unsuccessful. As a result, on June 16, 1992, the Moldovan parliament adopted a resolution on a peaceful settlement of the conflict – a ceasefire, disengagement of opposing sides, and negotiations. The Pridnestrovian side, fulfilling the agreements, removed paramilitary posts around Bendery. The situation in the open peaceful city was monitored by a specially created commission, which included representatives of Moldova, Romania, Russia and Ukraine. They witnessed how the shelling of Bendery began on June 19 in the afternoon, and immediately left their posts, arguing that the failure to fulfill their duties was due to the danger associated with the outbreak of hostilities. The Bendery tragedy lasted 40 days. The war was stopped on July 29 with the arrival of Russian peacekeepers. About five hundred people died during this time, 132 of them were civilians, including five children. 1242 people were injured, 87 are still considered missing to this day. About 1300 houses, 38 public education and healthcare facilities were damaged, fifty enterprises were destroyed. If the infrastructure can be restored, then the human losses are irreplaceable.
Today we pay tribute throughout Pridnestrovie to the memory of the fallen defenders of the PMR and the victims of the genocide unleashed by Moldovan nationalists against Pridnestrovians. Memorial candles are lit in all churches of the republic. There is memorial service in church has. Archbishop Sawa of Tiraspol and Dubossary held a service at the Transfiguration Cathedral in Bendery, whose domes were damaged in the 1992 war. The people of Bendery remember with warmth Father Leonid, who passed away in March last year. In the tragic days of the summer of 1992, day after day, despite the whistle of bullets and the roar of explosions that brought death and destruction, the clergyman came to the church, where he served as archpriest, prayed for the life and health of the townspeople and defenders of the city, as well as for the repose of the dead, funeral those whose bodies he found near the walls of the cathedral.
The PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky took part in the memorial service, which took place in the Transfiguration Cathedral of Bendery.
