Two days after Minnekaev's comments, a series of explosions were heard in the region.
A correspondent for Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti said powerful booms were heard in Tiraspol and that windows in neighboring houses were damaged.
Immediately, Ukrainian officials suggested the explosions were part of Kremlin efforts to create a narrative that could precede Russian military action.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a statement that three days before the incident, leaders of the breakaway region "were already preparing for it and took care to install a secure and comfortable bunker" at the Ministry of State Security, which was damaged in the explosions.
Children walk past the headquarters of the Operative Group of the Russian Troops in the town of Tiraspol last year.
"Obviously, this case is one of a number of provocative measures organized by the FSB (the Russian security service) to instil panic and anti-Ukrainian sentiment," it said.
Two radio towers were subsequently damaged on Tuesday morning. The site where the explosions occurred is known as the "Transnistrian radio and television center," which was built in the 1960s and is one of 14 Soviet-era radio transmitting centers, according to the Transnistrian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Ukraine also blamed Russia for firing cruise missiles Tuesday at a bridge across the estuary of the Dniester River. The road and rail bridge links Odesa with the far southwest corner of Ukraine bordering Moldova; the damage essentially cuts the region off.
Maksym Marchenko, head of the Odesa region military administration, said Russia had used three missiles, one of which had struck the bridge. "By his actions, the enemy is trying to cut off part of the Odesa region and create tension amid the events" in Transnistria, Marchenko said. Another attack on the bridge did further damage on Wednesday.
Moldova's President Maia Sandu on Tuesday condemned the attacks within Transnistria, calling them "provocations" aimed drawing the country into "actions that can endanger peace."
"Our analysis shows that there are tensions between forces inside that region interested in destabilizing the situation. This makes Transnistria vulnerable and creates risks for the republic of Moldova," she said at a press briefing following an emergency meeting of the country's Security Council.
Sandu listed a number of events that proceeded this week's explosions, including several bomb alerts at schools and medical facilities. She blamed "pro-war factions" attempting to "heighten tensions" in the region.