Unrecognised Transnistria cuts off heating and hot water as Russian gas transit through Ukraine stops – Reuters
Transnistria, a breakaway Moldovan region, has stopped supplying heating and hot water to households after gas supplies to Europe from Russia via Ukraine were cut off.
Source: Reuters
Details: The interruption of gas supplies had an immediate impact on the region's population of about 450,000. The region separated from Moldova in the early 1990s during the collapse of the Soviet Union. About 1,500 Russian troops are stationed in the region.
"There is no heating or hot water," an employee of the local energy company Tirasteploenergo told Reuters by phone. She added that she did not know how long the situation would last.
Gas supplies were cut off early Wednesday morning following the expiration of a gas transit agreement between the warring neighbours, Russia and Ukraine.
The leader of Transnistria, Vadim Krasnoselsky, explained that the situation was "not an easy one, but on the whole, we were prepared". He noted that supplies were suspended due to a debt payment dispute between Moldova and Russian gas giant Gazprom.
"Things will get better. Think about yourself, your family, your loved ones," Krasnoselsky added.
Russian gas supplies through Ukraine have been cut off after Kyiv refused to extend a transit deal due to the war.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the suspension of gas transit "one of Moscow's biggest defeats". He also stressed that it is now "a common task of Europe" to support Moldova "in this period of energy transformation".
Background:
- On 29 December 2024, the authorities of Transnistria, a separatist region of Moldova, cut off gas supplies to several state institutions due to the end of an agreement that allowed the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine.
- Russia's Gazprom announced it would stop supplying gas to Moldova's Transnistria effective 1 January 2025 due to "failure to fulfil payment obligations".
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