Originally Posted by
König
Yes, it is indeed a Transnistria/Russia thing with Ukraine. The Russian military is stationed in Transnistria, so Ukrainians are very suspicious of anyone coming from that place who does not conform to a typical border-crossing local resident. Now, seeing a US citizen "transiting" Transnistria would be quite extraordinary for the Ukrainian border guards; hence, all the questions. Also, all the Soviet symbols are prohibited in Ukraine while making up the majority of souvenirs in Transnistria itself.
That's what I figured. There was only one other person in my marshrutka, a lady with a Ukrainian passport. They scanned her stuff too, so that made me feel better.