What is "cobasna"

Cobasna ( Romanian; ; , Kolbasna) is a commune situated in northern Transnistria, Moldova, composed of three villages: Cobasna, Cobasna station and Suhaia Rîbnița (Сухая Рыбница). It is controlled by the authorities of Transnistria. It is located 2 km from the Ukrainian border, in Rîbnița District. Cobasna is the site of a Russian, and formerly Soviet ammunition depot, one of the largest of its kind in Europe.

The majority of the original ammunition has either disappeared or has been removed from Cobasna under Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) supervision. Military equipment which was unpractical to remove has undergone on-site destruction as per Moldovan demands that the "weapons dump" of Transnistria be removed. Transnistrian sources claim that the U.S. State Department recognizes that the process of removal of Russian munitions and equipment has been carried out with efficiency during 2003.

Today, around 22,000 tons of military equipment and ammunition reportedly remain there, guarded by Russian troops.

Units of the Operational Group of Russian Forces are stationed in the area.