Energy pressure points along Europe's eastern edge

What did the energy map of Ukraine's western and northern neighbours look like on 13 January 2025? In the days before that date, it was marked by cut supplies, guarded cables and a sanctions row.

Transnistria in the cold

The sharpest strain was in Moldova's unrecognised breakaway region of Transnistria. It stopped receiving Russian natural gas on 31 December 2024, after Russia's five-year gas transit deal with Ukraine expired. Heating, hot water and gas were completely cut off there. On 10 January 2025, Transnistria extended its state of emergency for another month because of the energy crisis.

The effects reached beyond the breakaway region. Energy tariffs rose sharply across Moldova, and some villages in the rest of the country also lost gas. In Transnistria, three people died and several more were injured from carbon monoxide poisoning, and cases of hypothermia were reported.

Guarding the Baltic link

Further north, the focus was on electricity. On 8 January 2025, Lithuanian prime minister Gintautas Paluckas deployed police to secure the country's power link with Poland. The move responded to reported attempts to disrupt the planned decoupling of the Baltic states' power systems from the grid shared with Belarus and Russia.

A sanctions move in Budapest's orbit

A separate story came from Hungary. On 7 January 2025, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Hungarian cabinet minister Antal Rogán for alleged corruption. It accused him of using his position to secure financial benefits for himself and political allies.

What the days showed

Taken together, these reports from the days before 13 January 2025 show different pressures in the region. One was a gas shortage after a transit deal ended. Another was a protected electricity connection ahead of a planned change of grid. The third was an anti-corruption sanction on a Hungarian minister.