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Flow Regulator Valves at a Natural Gas Measuring Station in Moldova
Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria has been thrust into a profound energy crisis after the termination of a five-year gas transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands of people in the mainly Russian-speaking territory are left facing the remaining winter months without heating or power after Ukraine halted the flow of Russian gas to several European countries on New Year’s Day.
The stoppage, confirmed by Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom, marked an end to Moscow’s decades-long dominance over Europe’s energy markets. Alongside Slovakia and Austria, Moldova was thought to be one of the countries most at risk from the cessation of Russian gas supplies.
Sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, the landlocked Eastern European country declared a 60-day state of emergency last month over energy security fears. Transnistria, a separatist pro-Russian enclave in Moldova, broke away in the early 1990s after the Soviet Union collapsed, although it is still internationally recognized as part of Moldova.
The region has now been forced to close almost all industrial companies, with the exception of food producers, following Wednesday’s cutoff of Russian gas supplies. “All industrial enterprises are idle, with the exception of those engaged in food production — that is, directly ensuring food security for Transdniestria,” said Sergei Obolonik, first deputy prime minister of the region.
The situation will be a serious test for Moldova, with the country facing a gas shortage and the possibility of a humanitarian crisis. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has been working with EU member states most impacted by the end of the gas transit agreement to ensure the entire 27-nation bloc is prepared for such a scenario.
Moldova, which is not an EU member state but narrowly voted in favor of closer EU ties in a referendum last year, is now facing a significant gas shortage. The country’s prime minister has warned of an impending security crisis and accused the Kremlin of “gas blackmail.”