Chisinau authorities say that more than 51,000 households in Pridnestrovie – the separatist region of Moldova – are without gas and 1,500 high-rise buildings are without heat. Prime Minister Doreen Recean believes that Moscow wants to influence the results of Moldova’s parliamentary elections. – They want the Russian government, – he said.
For decades, Transnistria received Russian gas via Ukraine, which was mainly used to generate electricity, which was also sold to the rest of Moldova. However, since January 1, the delivery of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine has been suspended, as Kiev refused to extend the agreement on this matter.
The Moldovan government blames the energy crisis on Russia’s Gazprom, which Chisinau says has refused to deliver contracted gas to Transnistria via an alternative route through the Balkans.
“Russia wants to create instability in the region”
– The essence is that Russia wants to create instability in the region, but this is very important, it affects the results of the Moldovan parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Rechean said in a briefing that they want to support the Russian government.
Gazprom claims that it has suspended gas deliveries to Moldova due to an unpaid debt of 709 million dollars. The Moldovan side claims that it has no debt from Gazprom.
There is no gas in 122 settlements
According to the Transnistrian authorities, 122 towns were deprived of gas supply on Monday. There is no heating in at least 131 schools and 147 kindergartens.
Since the cessation of Russian gas supply, Moldova has imported about 60 percent of it. Electricity was needed from Romania. The Moldovan government claims that it offered aid to the Transnistrian separatists, but they rejected it.
The Transnistrian authorities announced on Monday evening that the power transmission limit will increase to two four-hour outages per day.
The transit of Russian gas through Ukraine has been suspended
On January 1, Ukraine stopped the transit of Russian gas through its territory.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Ministry of Energy in Kyiv announced that at 7 am local time (6 am in Poland) Ukraine suspended the transit of Russian gas through its territory.
– We stopped the transit of Russian gas. This is a historical event. Russia will lose markets and suffer financial losses as well. Europe has already decided to give up Russian raw materials, said Energy Minister Herman Halushzenko.
The state company “Gazprom” of Russia announced on Wednesday morning that it was “deprived of the technical and legal possibilities to transport gas through Ukraine”. “On January 1, 2025, at 8:00 a.m. Moscow time (6:00 a.m. in Poland), the documents of December 30, 2019 between Gazprom and Naftogaz on the transit of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine expired,” Gazprom reports. reported and added that “as of 8 o’clock in the morning in Moscow, there is no Russian gas delivery for transit through Ukraine.
Also read: “Historical event”. Gas transit is suspended, “Russia is losing markets” >>>
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