Apartment buildings and businesses across the region are now without heating and hot water due to a recent gas shut-off. Residents have been advised to insulate their homes as temperatures drop below freezing.
Russia halted its gas supplies, claiming that Moldova owes €680 million in unpaid gas bills. However, the Moldovan government disputes this figure, pointing to independent audits that estimate the debt to be closer to €8 million. Officials in Moldova argue that Russia’s move is designed to create a humanitarian crisis, providing Moscow with ammunition to claim that Moldova’s pro-European Union trajectory has led to economic turmoil.
Stanislav Secrieru, Moldova’s national security advisor, accused Russia of “weaponizing” gas supplies to destabilize Transnistria and influence Moldova’s upcoming parliamentary elections, which will be pivotal for the EU candidate nation. Pro-Kremlin parties are expected to make a strong push in the elections.
In a letter from Igor Lisachenko, the director of Tiraspoltransgaz, it was revealed that Moldova’s state-owned Moldovagaz had offered to help secure gas from European markets to meet local needs. However, the response dismissed this plan, claiming that it would shift Transnistria from reliable Gazprom supplies to more expensive and volatile European options.
Currently, Transnistria receives no gas—neither from Russia nor Moldova. Moldovan officials have also reported that the separatist region’s leaders have declined offers of humanitarian aid, such as generators, to help alleviate the crisis.
Neither Tiraspoltransgaz nor Transnistria’s unrecognized government provided comments on the situation. A Moldovan government source informed POLITICO that the gas dispute underscores Moscow’s involvement behind the scenes, rather than decisions made solely by Transnistria’s leaders.
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