The President of Transnistria, Vadim Krasnoselsky, announced on the official website that Russia will begin supplying gas to Transnistria as "humanitarian and technical aid" to the unrecognized republic. "In the near future, gas will be in Transnistria, just a little more patience is needed, negotiations were based on the Russian Ministry of Energy. The initiative for this meeting was joint — Russia and Transnistria," said Krasnoselsky.
According to him, Russian gas will be supplied only for the needs of Transnistria, not Moldova. Krasnoselsky did not specify details on how the route, payment, and transit of gas will take place, adding only that they are currently being "worked out."
Meanwhile, on January 9, Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov claimed that Russia cannot supply gas to Transnistria "due to the decisions of the authorities of Ukraine and Moldova."
On January 1, Russia stopped gas transit through Ukraine due to the expiration of the contract between "Gazprom" and the Ukrainian "Naftogaz." The decision by "Gazprom" primarily affected Transnistria, as Moldova had previously found alternative supplies.
Since December 2022, all Russian gas supplied to Moldova was transferred to Transnistria by decision of Chisinau. Moldova, in turn, purchased electricity from the Moldavian GRES, located in Transnistria.
On January 2, almost all industrial enterprises in Transnistria, except for food ones, stopped working due to the cessation of gas supplies and the resulting energy deficit. Heating and hot water were also turned off. On January 5, water supply disruptions began — several villages and districts of the Transnistrian capital Tiraspol were left without water. Rolling blackouts last eight hours a day — twice a day for four hours. School holidays have been extended until January 20. Under the conditions of rolling blackouts, remote learning is impossible, and none of the republic's schools have heating.
The day before, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean called the situation blackmail, stating that by leaving Transnistria without Russian gas, Moscow seeks to ensure the return of pro-Russian forces to power in Chisinau.