Russia’s Gazprom announced Saturday a halt to gas supplies to Moldova from next month, in a move that’s likely to cause severe power cuts.
Moscow supplies about 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year to the former Soviet republic.
The fuel is piped via Ukraine to Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria — which is backed by Russia. There, it is used to generate cheap power that is then sold to the parts of the country still fully controlled by the Moldovan government.
What did Gazprom say about the cut?
Gazprom said in a statement it would “introduce a restriction on natural gas supplies to the Republic of Moldova to zero cubic meters per day from 0500 GMT on January 1, 2025.”
Cutting off the gas will stop supplies to the Kuciurgan power plant, the country’s largest, which is situated in the separatist pro-Russian Transnistria region.
The Russian energy giant said the move was “in connection with the refusal by the Moldovan side to regulate debts” and that it “reserved the right” to take further action, including terminating the supply contract.
According to Russian calculations, the debt stands at $709 million (€680 million). Moldova has put the debt at $8.6 million.
Moldova had been expecting the gas cut and introduced a 60-day state of emergency earlier this month to cut gas usage by a third.
The country has begun importing gas from Romania and utilizing storage capacities in Ukraine and Romania.
How has Moldova reacted?
Moldovan prime minister Dorin Recean denounced Moscow for what he called “oppressive tactics” and then accused the Kremlin of using “energy as a political weapon.”
“This decision confirms once again the intention of the Kremlin to leave the inhabitants of the Transnistrian region without light and heat in the middle of the winter,” Recean wrote on Facebook.
There are concerns that Transnistria could face hours-long blackouts similar to those experienced by Ukraine due to Russian war attacks on its energy infrastructure. Those power cuts also impacted Moldova.
Recean said the “alleged debt has been invalidated by an international audit,” referring to calculations by British and Norwegian audit firms which found the debt to be lower.
The prime minister said Moldova would consider legal options, possibly including international arbitration.
The Moldovan government set up a commission to manage “imminent risks” and on Friday approved a series of measures aimed at saving energy.
Moldova to be hit hard by end of Ukraine gas transit deal
The move by Gazprom is a precursor to a total shutdown of Russian gas exports to Europe via a transit deal with Ukraine.
Despite Russia launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, gas has continued to flow from Russian territory into the EU, with Ukraine earning millions of dollars in transit fees.
However, Kyiv has now refused to renew the deal with Russia when it expires on December 31.
The Russian gas flows through Ukraine to Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Italy. It reaches Moldova through separate pipelines running via Ukraine.
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moldova’s 2.5 million population was entirely dependent on Moscow for natural gas but has since pushed to diversify its energy sources.
Russia slowed natural gas supplies to Europe in 2022, citing disputes over payment, a move European leaders described as energy blackmail over their support for Ukraine.
European governments scrambled to secure alternative supplies at higher prices, much of it liquefied natural gas brought by ship from the United States and Qatar.
mm/dj (AFP, AP, Reuters)
