The region of 300 thousand people was left without gas, heating and hot water, and cold water was provided intermittently, all industrial enterprises were closed.
Since the beginning of January, gas supplies to Transnistria have stopped. The energy crisis has reached alarming proportions within a week. The region is left without gas, heating and hot water, and cold water is provided intermittently. All industrial businesses are closed. The periods of power outages continue to grow and have reached eight hours a day, and soon they won’t either, because the only thermal power plant will run out of coal.
Gas in Transnistria comes from Russia through the territory of Ukraine, but the unrecognized republic itself does not pay for it. Gas supplies were halted due to the termination of the agreement between Kiev and Moscow and Ukraine’s refusal to further transit.
Russian interests
At the same time, in Moldova – on the right bank of the Dniester – there is no shortage of gas – Chisinau receives it from other sources for two years, especially from Romania.
A similar alternative, according to the State Secretary of the Ministry of Energy of Moldova, Constantin Borosan, is offered in Transnistria. He said that in December Chisinau offered Tiraspol to consider the possibility of buying gas on the Romanian exchange in case Gazprom stopped supplies, but did not receive any response to these proposals.
On January 2, the head of Moldovagaz, Vadim Ceban, offered help to Tiraspoltransgaz in arranging the purchase of natural gas “on any European gas platform in market conditions” to provide energy to the residents of left bank of the Dniester. However, Tiraspol, according to Cheban, refused this offer.
The Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that the situation of the gas supply crisis in the unrecognized Transnistria arose allegedly due to the decisions of the authorities of Ukraine and Moldova.
“You see that for many years Russia supplied natural gas, where, in fact, Pridnestrovie lived. Now, due to the decisions of Ukraine and the authorities of Moldova, Transnistria lost this opportunity. The situation is really a crisis,” said Peskov.
proposal of Ukraine
“Today I had several international talks with Moldova – Maia Sandu, of course, the most important thing is to help Moldova cope with a difficult period of energy challenges, and prevent Moscow from provoking on social tension,” said Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on January 8. .
According to the president, the entire current energy situation in Moldova, and especially on the left bank of the Dniester, is an attempt by Russia to manipulate energy resources against the Moldovan authorities.
“We are ready to help Moldova, in particular, with coal. It is very important to maintain stability and allow all the people of Moldova to live in peace and work for their country, to overcome poverty and for our general movement in the European Union. , “said Zelensky.
Election scheme?
Russia can resume gas supplies to Transnistria at any time. For this purpose, there is a pipeline capacity that goes beyond Ukraine and with the permission of Moldova. However, the Kremlin is not doing this and is deliberately driving the region under its control into a deep humanitarian crisis – in order to eventually “save” it, and assign responsibility for the lost lives and the destroyed economy to current government of Moldova, whose ratings have already taken a hit due to the energy crisis.
It is likely that Russia will soon partially resume gas supplies to Transnistria, which it occupies, but this will be presented as a victory by one of Moldova’s pro-Russian politicians. It is worth noting that the information is prepared for this scenario.
This whole scheme is built around the parliamentary elections planned for autumn 2025 in Moldova. The Kremlin’s goal is to replace Moldova’s current pro-European authorities with pro-Russian ones and reintegrate Transnistria into the country under conditions that would make the country’s new turn to the West impossible.
It also poses significant security and geopolitical challenges for Ukraine.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.