Dodon wants to punish servicemen for participating in Ukraine drills despite his veto

At the same time, he promised to lower the ranks of servicemen who left for the exercises, presidential press secretary Ion Ceban wrote on Facebook.

"The government's decision to send Moldovan soldiers to the exercises in Ukraine was suspended by a presidential decree. The president also ordered checks in the military units of the National Army to find out who is absent and present among the military so as to make a decision subsequently, in accordance with the law, up to the lowering of the responsible persons in their ranks," he wrote.

As Ukrinform reported, the Rapid Trident 2017 international military exercises, which are taking place at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center in Yavoriv, Lviv region, from September 7 to September 23, are attended by soldiers of the 22nd Peacekeeping Battalion and the First Infantry Brigade of the National Army of Moldova (57 people).

The decision on participation in the 2017 exercises was taken by the Moldovan government on Wednesday, September 6, despite the president's ban.

Dodon said on September 6 that he had suspended the government decision, being guided by the constitutional powers of the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces.

Experts in the field of constitutional law, in turn, emphasize that the president's decision to suspend the government's decision is unenforceable, as the dispute between the government and the president can only be settled by a decision of the Constitutional Court.

op