Russia is weaponizing gas deliveries to target Moldova in hybrid warfare, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief has said.
Moldova’s unrecognized breakaway region of Transnistria is battling an energy crisis caused by the cut-off of crucial Russian gas deliveries that has led to the shutdown of much of its industry, the suspension of domestic heat and hot water supplies, and eight-hour power cuts each day.
A mainly Russian-speaking region of nearly half a million, Transnistria has been an outpost of Russian economic and military influence ever since it separated from Moldova in 1991, helping to thwart Moldova’s aspiration of joining the EU.
It also became dependent on cut-price supplies of Russian gas, so it has been left scrambling to find alternative sources of energy, including firewood, as it struggles to cope with the power shortages.
Gazprom, the Russian energy firm, has said it turned off the gas owing to Moldova’s unpaid bill, while Moldova has accused Moscow of using the energy shortage as a way of destabilizing the region.
The crisis has led to fears that it could spill over into the rest of Moldova but so far, the country has managed to weather the storm by importing energy from neighboring Romania and encouraging its citizens to optimize their energy consumption.
“Thanks to EU support Moldova remains resilient and well-connected to European energy networks,” Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign affairs commissioner, wrote in the post published on the X platform after a call with Dorin Recean, Moldova’s prime minister.
Recean, who has his sights firmly set on Moldova joining the European Union, has been outspoken in criticizing Moscow and has accused Russia of “artificially” creating the crisis and using the cold to stoke up anti-European sentiments, destabilizing the country ahead of its autumn parliamentary elections.
Transnistria has so far refused to accept aid from Moldova or the EU, despite calls to do so from the EU’s diplomats and Recean, who is in favor of reintegrating the region.
Officials from Moldova’s government will convene with an EU working group to look for a potential resolution to the situation later this week, as the issue of the worsening crisis has been pushed higher up the EU’s agenda.
Representatives from Tiraspol have not been invited.
