Apartment buildings and business across the region have been left without heating and hot water as a result of the shut-off, with residents told to insulate their homes as temperatures drop to below zero degrees Celsius.
Russia ended gas supplies claiming Moldova owes €680 million in debts for unpaid gas bills. The Moldovan government disputes the sum and insists independent audits put the true figure at only around €8 million. According to officials, Russia’s only interest is sparking a humanitarian crisis it can use to say Moldova’s pro-EU path has brought economic disaster.
According to the country’s national security advisor, Stanislav Secrieru, Russia is “weaponizing” the flow of gas to sow a crisis in Transnistria and interfere in next year’s critical nationwide parliamentary elections, where pro-Kremlin parties are looking to take the helm of the EU candidate state.
According to the letter, signed by Tiraspoltransgaz director Igor Lisachenko, Moldova’s Moldovagaz offered to facilitate “the purchase of gas from European gas platforms” to meet local needs. However, the response reads, transitioning to non-Russian gas “actually means moving from stable supplies from Gazprom to purchases on speculative terms at much higher and unstable prices.”
Currently, Transnistria is receiving no gas from either Russia or Moldova, and Moldovan government officials say the region’s leaders have also refused offers of humanitarian aid, including generators.
Neither Tiraspoltransgaz nor the unrecognized government of Transnistria immediately responded to a request to comment on the exchange. A Moldovan government source confirmed to POLITICO that the exchange took place, adding that they believed it showed Moscow — rather than local leaders — were behind the decision.
