Energy crises have long been a source of political and economic instability.
When access to power and heating becomes uncertain, tensions rise, and people take to the streets.
In regions with unresolved conflicts, energy shortages can quickly turn into larger disputes.
Hundreds of people gathered in Transnistria on Friday to demand that Moldova allow Russian gas deliveries to the breakaway region.
Gazprom Stopped Supplying Gas
The protest took place in several cities near the border with Moldova, with demonstrators carrying Russian and Transnistrian flags. They chanted slogans calling on Moldova to allow the flow of gas.
Transnistria, a region with around half a million residents, has been facing widespread power, heating, and hot water shortages for nearly three weeks, according to Digi24.
The crisis began when Gazprom stopped supplying gas, leaving the region struggling with daily blackouts and factory closures.
While the rest of Moldova has avoided similar disruptions by securing energy imports from Romania, Transnistria has not found an alternative.
The leader of the separatist administration, Vadim Krasnoselski, said Russia had agreed to resume gas deliveries to the region as a humanitarian measure, but nothing has changed.
Krasnoselski also sent a letter to Moldova’s President Maia Sandu, stating that Transnistria was willing to buy natural gas through Moldovagaz, the country’s main energy company.
The request was made on January 18, but he claimed there had been no response.
Moldova’s Prime Minister, Dorin Recean, accused Russia of using the crisis to create instability.
In an interview, he said that the only long-term solution would be the withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria.
Russian forces have been stationed there since the 1992 war, which followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.
For decades, Gazprom supplied gas to Transnistria without payment as a way of maintaining Russian influence.
This changed on January 1 when gas deliveries through Ukraine were halted due to the expiration of a transit agreement between Kyiv and Moscow.
Moldova has been able to receive gas through alternative routes, but Gazprom has refused to supply Transnistria separately, citing financial disputes over unpaid debts.
