Every time planned electrical outages are imposed on his village in southern Moldova, 73-year-old retiree Vasili Donici passes the time by solving crosswords and puzzles in a room he illuminates using a small gas lamp.

"An important task now is to help Moldova overcome its energy challenges and prevent Moscow from stirring up social tensions. ... We are ready to help," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 8.

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 move was connected with, but not required by, the expiration at the end of 2024 of Russia’s contract with Ukraine for transit of natural gas to Europe. The looming energy crisis is likely to have a strong negative effect on Moldova’s ruling pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) in parliamentary elections due in the second half of 2025.

Moldova would not object to Ukraine's proposal to help unrecognised Transnistria with its energy crisis in order to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in the region. Source: Moldovan PM Dorin Recean in a commentary to European Pravda Details: Recean noted that Chișinău has not asked Ukraine to help Transnistria with energy resources but would not object to it.

The Moldovan government has stated that the energy crisis in the unrecognised republic of Transnistria, caused by the halt in Russian gas supplies, is part of a broader Russian plan of manipulation and propaganda.

"Russian propaganda tries to create a story in which Moldova becomes a ‘problematic actor,’ although the government has proposed clear solutions to avoid the crisis," Moldovan government spokesperson Daniel Voda said on Jan.