Moldova braces for energy crisis after Russia halts gas supply amid winter freeze

Russia’s halt to gas supplies on January 1 has crippled Moldova’s largest power plant and spread fear of a looming energy crisis in the eastern European country amid a winter freeze.Russian-owned gas giant Gazprom announced in December it would halt gas supplies to Moldova over a dispute over an alleged $709 million debt for past supplies.The claim has been rejected by Moldova’s pro-Western government which accused Moscow of “oppressive tactics.”Moldova’s national security adviser, Stanislav Secrieru, accused Russia of “weaponizing” its energy exports “to destabilize Moldova economically and socially, weaken the pro-reform government ahead of the elections, and manufacture political demand for the return of pro-Russian forces to power,” in an interview with Politico.Winter freeze in TransnistriaGazprom had already reduced its deliveries to Moldova since the beginning of the invasion in Ukraine, solely supplying gas to the unrecognized breakaway state of Transnistria, also known as Pridnestrovia.Transnistria claimed independence from Moldova following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 but is still internationally recognized as a part of the country.It stretches vertically along the northeastern Moldova-Ukraine border.A sweetheart deal struck in 2004 between Transnistria and the Kremlin allowed the separatist region to receive free gas from Russia to sell electricity to the rest of Moldova.Now, that power supply has been cut off.On New Year’s Day, local media in Transnistria reported heating outages, while an energy supplier urged residents to “dress warmly,” gather into a single room, and seal doors and windows with curtains and blankets.Temperatures plunged to -1 degree Celsius on Wednesday night, The Moscow Times reports.More than 130 schools were without heating, Russian state media cited local officials as saying.Transnistria declared a 30-day economic emergency last month in anticipation of the energy shortage.While the rest ...