Ukraine halts Russian gas supplies, plunging Transnistria into crisis | Wilnesh News

Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria is plunged into a severe energy crisis after a five-year gas transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine ended.

Hundreds of thousands of people in the mainly Russian-speaking region of Transnistria will face no heat or electricity for the remaining months of winter after Ukraine stopped supplies of Russian gas to several European countries on New Year’s Day.

The generally expected shutdown is Confirmed The project, launched on Wednesday by Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom, marks the end of Moscow’s decades-long dominance of European energy markets.

Along with Slovakia and Austria, Moldova is considered one of the countries most at risk from a stoppage of Russian gas supplies.

The landlocked country in the northeast corner of Europe’s Balkan Peninsula declared a 60-day state of emergency last month due to concerns about energy security.

Transnistria is a pro-Russian separatist enclave in Moldova that broke away in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, although it is still recognized internationally as part of Moldova.

Almost all industrial companies in the region were forced to close, with the exception of food producers, after Russian natural gas supplies were cut off on Wednesday.

The region’s First Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Obolonik reportedly told a local news channel on Thursday: “All industrial enterprises are idle, except for those engaged in food production – that is, directly ensuring Food security in Transnistria. Reuters.

“It is too early to tell how things will develop… The problem is so widespread that if it is not solved for a long time, we have already undergone irreversible changes – that is, companies will lose their entrepreneurial ability.”

Until Wednesday, Russian gas had not reached Moldova via neighboring Ukraine. However, neither Moscow nor Kiev is willing to reach a new gas transportation agreement in this context. Ongoing war.

The European Commission is the executive agency of the European Union, explain It has been working with EU member states most affected by the end of the gas transport deal to ensure that the entire 27-nation bloc is prepared for such a scenario.

Moldova is not a member of the European Union, but weak votes Last year’s referendum supported stronger ties with the EU but it now faces severe gas shortages.

In Transnistria, breakaway leader Vadim Krasnoselski explain He said via Telegram on Thursday that the situation was “difficult, but the collapse of society is unacceptable.”

Krasnoselsky said there are currently more than 2,600 facilities in the area without heat and hot water, more than 1,500 of which are apartment complexes.

He said on Wednesday that Transnistria’s main power plants had started using coal after disruptions in Russian gas supplies, estimating the enclave’s gas reserves were enough for 10 days of limited use in its north and sustainably in its south. double.

“In Transnistria, the year started with a severe test – an energy crisis caused by an unfavorable combination of external factors,” Krasnoselski said, according to a translation.

Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recin explain Russia faced a security crisis on Friday after it halted natural gas shipments through Ukraine and accused the Kremlin of “gas blackmail.”

In a statement published on the government website, Rezin warned that Transnistria’s 350,000 residents were facing an imminent humanitarian crisis.

“By jeopardizing the future of the protectorate it has supported for three decades in order to destabilize Moldova, Russia exposes the inevitable outcome for all its allies – betrayal and isolation,” Rezin said.

He added: “We see this as a security crisis aimed at returning pro-Russian forces to power in Moldova and weaponizing our territory against Ukraine, with which we share a 1,200-kilometer border.”

The Prime Minister of Moldova said that the country has secured electricity supply in the first days of 2025, with half of the country’s energy consumption being met by domestic energy and the other half from imports.

A spokesman for the Russian Embassy in London had no immediate comment when contacted by CNBC.

The country’s parliament said late last year that Russia’s suspension of natural gas supplies to Transnistria could trigger a “humanitarian crisis” and pose a “risk to the functioning and stability” of Moldova’s energy sector.

Moldova, sandwiched between Russia and Ukraine, plans to hold parliamentary elections in the coming months. The vote will determine the country’s future relationship with the EU.

In early November last year, European leaders congratulated pro-Western incumbent Maia Sandu for winning the runoff in the country’s presidential election. The vote was seen as another step forward for the former Soviet republic to integrate into the European Union.

—CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.