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Moldova presses Transnistria to avert new gas crisis
Summary
A look back at the appeal made by Moldova's prime minister on 6 February 2025, weeks after Transnistria lost its Russian gas supplies.
What was Chisinau asking of Tiraspol on 7 February 2025? A day earlier, on 6 February, Moldova's Prime Minister, Dorin Recean, had called on the breakaway state of Transnistria to take steps to avoid a new gas crisis. The appeal came as part of the wider 2025 Moldovan energy crisis, which was also tied to Moldova's relations with the European Union.
How the crisis began
Transnistria, Moldova's unrecognised breakaway region, stopped receiving natural gas from Russia on 31 December 2024 at 19:50 EET. The cut followed the expiry of Russia's five-year gas transit deal with Ukraine.
The consequences were severe. Heating, hot water and gas were completely cut off in Transnistria, while energy tariffs rose sharply across the country. Some villages in the rest of Moldova were also left without gas.
In Transnistria, three people died and several more were injured by carbon monoxide poisoning, and cases of hypothermia were reported.
What Recean's appeal signalled
By putting the onus on Transnistria, Recean made the region's own actions part of the effort to prevent a repeat. The appeal was directed at the authorities in the breakaway territory, not only at Moldova's government and its partners. It came barely five weeks after the supply stopped, when the damage of the winter cut-off was still fresh.
