after struggles without heat for six daysPower shortages have also hit a breakaway region in the eastern European country of Moldova, with authorities ordering eight-hour blackouts a day to prevent an overloaded power system from collapsing.
The energy crisis in Transnistria, part of the pro-Russian territory between Moldova and Ukraine, began on January 1. When Moscow stopped natural gas transportation through the pipeline through the territory of Ukraine. It intensified this week as residents tried to stay warm by overloading the old Soviet-era power grid and using electric heaters that often shut off. The power cut in turn stopped the water supply.
The suspension of Russian gas supplies due to Ukraine's refusal to renew an expiring gas transit agreement has raised questions about the survival of the Transnistrian region, which declared itself an independent microstate in 1990 and has survived since then thanks to economic and military support from Moscow.
The predominantly Russian-speaking region of Transnistria celebrated Orthodox Christmas on Tuesday, a typically festive occasion but this year's lack of gas for cooking and heating has been painful. The president of the region, Vadim Krasnoselsky, urged people not to give up in a sad Christmas message, saying “it is very important to hope for the best and believe that everything can be overcome.”
Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said on Monday that his government had offered aid to the Transnistrian region, which is mainly located on the left or east bank of the Dniester River, but had been rebuffed.
Mr. Krasnoselski, the leader of Transnistrian region, said in a statement released by the local media Accusing Moldova of trying to “suffocate” its separatist territory and force it to give up its statehood claims, which are not recognized by any country, it said that it has not received any offer of help.
Indirectly addressing the question of whether Russia had effectively given up Transnistria by cutting off gas, Mr. Krasnoselski said “talk about Russia leaving Transnistria” was being spread by “unfriendly” outsiders to create panic.
Speaking to reporters at an online press conference, Prime Minister Recean said “Moldova's goal is to reintegrate the country,” but said it would be done peacefully and only after Russia withdraws “troops illegally stationed there.”
However, the escalating energy crisis has raised the possibility that people could start fleeing the enclave, which could leave it an empty shell unless Russia uses alternative gas pipelines through Ukraine's foothills.
“If they can no longer live on the left bank without electricity, heat and water, then we will host them here on the right bank,” said Mr. Recean.
Moscow has so far refrained from transporting gas to Transnistria, using a pipeline connecting the Black Sea to Turkey, a gas route from the Balkans to Moldova and separatist enclaves. Doing so would require additional transit fees for Russian energy giant Gazprom, which was already losing large sums of money by delivering gas to Transnistria largely for free before Ukraine closed the cheaper route.
Mr. Krasnoselski on Tuesday asked residents to turn off their electric heaters “to avoid making an already difficult situation worse,” noting that there had been 160 emergency power outages the previous day. Local media outlets posted photos of burnt fuse boxes and reported numerous electrical fires. Military field kitchens have appeared on the streets of Tiraspol, the capital of the region, to provide residents with hot food.
Russia sent troops to Transnistria as peacekeepers during a brief war between Russian-speaking separatists and Romanian-speaking fighters from Moldova in 1992, but they are still there more than three decades later.
Russia, which has been unable to supply its own forces since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, is increasingly relying on local supplies and manpower to maintain its military force of about 1,500 troops in Transnistria.