Moscow: On January 1, Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom halted gas supplies to the European Union. Gazprom, which is one of the largest gas suppliers, on Wednesday said that it had suspended the flow of natural gas to Europe through a pipeline that had carried Soviet and Russian gas through Ukraine for nearly six decades, the New York Times reported. The move came after Ukraine had said it would not renew an agreement that allowed for the transit of Russian gas through its territory. The agreement, signed in 2019, ended on Wednesday.
The Soviet-era pipeline through Ukraine, designed to transport Siberian gas to European markets, remained Russia's final major gas route to Europe following the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany in 2022, allegedly by Ukraine, and the closure of a route through Belarus to Poland.
Moldova accuses Putin of using energy as 'political weapon'
After Gazprom announced it would halt gas flows, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean accused Moscow of using energy "as a political weapon” and said his government does not recognize the debt cited by the Russian energy giant, which he said has been “invalidated by an international audit.”
Moldovan President Maia Sandu criticized Russia on Monday for Gazprom’s decision and said that the country has gas supplies “for the heating season” and measures will be taken “to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply,” adding that plans are also in place to provide humanitarian aid to residents in Transnistria.
In late 2022, months after Russia fully invaded neighbouring Ukraine, Moldova suffered major power outages following Russian strikes on Ukraine, which is interconnected to the Kuciurgan plant.
When the war next door started, Moldova was entirely dependent on Moscow for natural gas but has since pushed to diversify and expand its energy sources, and now relies on obtaining gas from other European markets.
'No heating, no light': Moldovans fear looming energy shortage
His concerns aren’t unfounded. “I feel that we’ve entered a crisis that is quite difficult to resolve … which worries me greatly,” Murzin told The Associated Press in Chisinau. “Price increases are one thing, but when there is no gas at all, that’s something entirely different.” “There will be no heating, no light,” Murzin added. “We are entering a very difficult year."
(With inputs from agency)
