Moldovan President Igor Dodon has threatened to strip servicemen taking part in military exercises in Ukraine of their ranks, Presidential Press Secretary Ion Ceban said.

"The president for the first time gave orders to conduct inspections at army units to check for the presence or absence of servicemen and take relevant decisions in line with the law, including the stripping of military ranks," Ceban wrote on his Facebook page.

He said that the government resolution on the involvement of Moldovan servicemen in the military exercises in Ukraine was suspended by a presidential decree immediately after publication, but the Defense Ministry reported that 57 servicemen left for the exercises.

"At night, probably at midnight, they [the Cabinet] published on the official monitor an unlawful government resolution on the participation of the personnel of the National Army in military exercises in Ukraine. It is customary for them to make decisions at night... The resolution was suspended by a presidential decree immediately after its publication," Ceban said.

The press secretary published the presidential decree in social networks. However, unlike the government resolution, it was not published in Monitorul Oficial.

On Wednesday, the government passed a resolution on the involvement of Moldovan military men in Rapid Trident 2017 exercises in Ukraine despite the presidential ban. According to a Defense Ministry report, on Wednesday a contingent of Moldovan servicemen left for Yavoriv in Lviv region where the exercises will be held from September 7 to September 23. The contingent consists of 57 servicemen of the 22nd Peacekeeping Battalion and Moldova Brigade. Lt. Col. Alexandr Markutsa heads the contingent.