Since 1968, during the old Soviet era, Russian gas has been supplied to Europe for over 50 years, but it was cut off on the first day of the new year.
Most European countries had prepared in advance, but some separatist regions in Moldova are experiencing difficulties, such as disruptions in heating and hot water supply.
Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom halted gas supplies to several European countries via the pipeline that passes through Ukraine on the morning of the 1st, local time.
Even after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, Russia continued to supply gas to Europe through this pipeline based on an agreement with Ukraine, but this time, Ukraine refused to extend the contract.
Besides this pipeline, Russia used three other routes to supply gas to Europe: “Nord Stream” running under the Baltic Sea to Germany, “Yamal-Europe” passing through Belarus and Poland, and “TurkStream” traversing the Black Sea northeast to southwest, reaching Bulgaria via Turkey.
Of these, the supply of Russian gas through Nord Stream and Yamal-Europe was cut off in 2022 at the outbreak of the Ukraine war.
TurkStream continues to operate, allowing Russia to supply gas to EU member Hungary as well as non-member countries Turkey and Serbia for the time being.
Until just before the outbreak of the Ukraine war, EU member states imported nearly 40% of the natural gas supplied via pipelines from Russia.
However, prompted by the war, a plan was devised to reduce dependency on Russian gas to zero by 2027.
Most major EU member states have drastically switched and diversified their natural gas import lines to Norway and the United States.
Even countries like Austria, which had high dependency on Russian gas until recently, and Hungary and Slovakia, which have pro-Russian governments, have established alternative import lines.
However, Moldova, which has applied for EU membership but is not yet a member, has been hit hard by the cessation of Russian gas supply.
There are speculations that Russia is attempting to cause an energy crisis in Moldova to undermine the current anti-Russian central government in Moldova.
The Moldovan central government has set a target to reduce energy consumption by more than a third, covering 38% of energy needs with domestic production and importing the remaining 62% from neighboring Romania.
Daniel Voda, spokesperson for the Moldovan central government, stated that Moldova’s energy supply is stable, with thermal power plants operating normally and sufficient gas reserves to get through the harsh winter.
Meanwhile, in the pro-Russian separatist region of Transnistria, where 1,500 Russian troops are stationed, 450,000 residents are experiencing hardships in the harsh winter.
The Transnistrian authorities cut off gas supply for heating and hot water to ordinary homes following the halt of gas supply from Russia early in the morning, maintaining it only for essential facilities like hospitals.
Officials are advising residents to dress warmly, stay together in one room with family, cover windows and balcony doors with blankets or thick curtains, and use electric heaters, while prohibiting the use of gas or electric stoves due to safety concerns.
A helpline was also established to assist people in finding firewood.
The power plant in Kuchurgan, Transnistria, is switching to coal after the cut in Russian gas, but coal reserves are reportedly sufficient for only 50 days, according to the BBC.
This plant supplies 80% of the electricity used across Moldova, raising concerns about power shortages not only in Transnistria but across all of Moldova, the BBC added.