Moldova's unrecognized breakaway region of Transnistria stopped receiving natural gas supplies from Russia on 31 December 2024, at 19:50 EET (17:50 UTC), as a result of the expiration of Russia's five-year gas transit deal with Ukraine. This kickstarted a nationwide energy crisis; heating, hot water and gas (except for cooking in cities) were completely cut off in Transnistria, while energy tariffs increased sharply and some villages were also cut off from gas in the rest of Moldova. In Transnistria, three people died and several more were injured due to carbon monoxide poisoning, with cases of hypothermia also being reported.
Historically, Transnistria had covered most of Moldova's electricity needs through the Cuciurgan power station, which functioned with Russian gas supplied to Transnistria for free. However, gas supplies stopped reaching Transnistria after Ukraine refused to renew a gas transit deal with Russia in order to deprive the latter of funding for its then ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Russia had the option of continuing the supply through the TurkStream and Trans-Balkan pipelines, but it refused to do so; an energy crisis could benefit Russia in helping bring down the then ruling pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) at the upcoming Moldovan parliamentary election later that year, with the Moldovan authorities describing this as the underlying reason for the crisis. On 28 September 2025 the elections were held, with the ruling PAS winning with a reduced majority.
Thus, Moldova began to buy more expensive electricity from Romania, while Transnistria remained without gas until February. During the energy crisis, there was concern about the possibility of a humanitarian crisis in Transnistria, where some 350,000 people lived at the time, and as Transnistria's main sources of revenue came from the use of free Russian gas, including the sale of produced electricity to Moldova, analysts and commentators pointed out that the crisis could lead to the collapse of the breakaway state and its reintegration back into Moldova.
Background
Moldova relied since its independence on the Cuciurgan power station to satisfy most of its electricity needs. This power station is located in Transnistrian-held territory, and it ran on natural gas supplied to Transnistria by Russia for free. Transnistria is an unrecognized breakaway state internationally recognized as part of Moldova, located mainly in Moldova's recognized territory on the left bank of the Dniester river. Transnistria broke away in the Transnistria War of 1992 with the help of Russian forces present in the region today organized into the Operational Group of Russian Forces, comprising about 1,500 troops, mostly locals employed by Russia. 29.1% of Transnistrians declared Russian ethnicity in a 2015 census, and a majority of them speak Russian as their first language.
Moldova paid millions to Transnistria every year in exchange of electricity at below-market prices, effectively financing separatism in its own territory. But after the victory of pro-European Maia Sandu in the 2020 Moldovan presidential election, Moldova approached the European Union (EU) and worked to reduce its dependency on the power station. Thus, if Cuciurgan historically satisfied 70%–90% of Moldova's electricity needs, this figure dropped to 53% in November 2024 and to only 37% in December 2024. Moldova planned to cut itself completely from Transnistrian electricity with the construction of the Vulcănești–Chișinău power line, which was to be completed in late 2025. It would allow Moldova to import sufficient electricity for its needs directly via Romania, avoiding the Soviet-built line that, from Romania, ran first through Ukraine and Transnistria before reaching Moldova's capital of Chișinău.
Transnistria's economy was entirely dependent on free Russian gas, which it used to produce electricity to sell to Moldova, process metal in the Moldova Steel Works in Rîbnița and charge its own population even if at reduced prices, and the termination of this supply of gas had the potential to collapse Transnistria's public budget and risk a humanitarian crisis. Russian gas stopped flowing into Transnistria with the expiration of a five-year gas transit contract between Russia's Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz on 1 January 2025, depriving Russia of important revenue from the export of gas to European countries to fund its then ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine had already warned in 2023 that it would not renew the contract.
Russia had the option of maintaining the gas supply to Transnistria via the alternative route of the TurkStream and Trans-Balkan pipelines, but it refused to do so. Moldova had a contract with Gazprom on the supply of gas until 30 September 2026. An energy crisis could favor Russia by destabilizing Moldova and helping bring pro-Russian parties back to power in the parliamentary election in the second half of 2025, making Sandu's ruling pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) lose its majority. Extensive Russian interference, including through vote buying, had already influenced Sandu's re-election and a referendum to cement EU accession aspirations in 2024; the latter passed only narrowly.
Prelude Negotiations with Gazprom and sackings in Moldova
On 25 November 2024, Moldova's Minister of Energy, Victor Parlicov, met in Saint Petersburg in Russia with the CEO of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, to discuss the continuation of gas supplies to Transnistria in the context of the expiration of the deal between Gazprom and Naftogaz on 1 January 2025. Parlicov stated on 27 November that Gazprom had made the continuation, quantity and conditions of the supply of gas conditional on Moldova's payment of its debt to the company and that it had indicated Moldova to discuss with Ukraine the extension of the gas transit deal. Parlicov declared that "we must really prepare, from now on, for the crisis scenario of 1 January". At the time, Gazprom claimed that Moldova owed it over 700 million dollars, while Moldova argued it owed only 8.6 million dollars based on the results of an external audit presented in September 2023. President of Moldova Maia Sandu and Prime Minister of Moldova Dorin Recean had stated after the publication of the results that Moldova would not pay non-existent debts.
On 5 December, Recean announced that he had requested the resignation of Parlicov, as he was the responsible for managing the energy sector and "he made mistakes that led us to this situation of crisis". Recean also requested the resignation of Victor Bînzari, the general manager of Energocom (then the national electricity supplier company), as the company "did not manage to secure the gas needs for the winter period at the most advantageous prices"; and Sergiu Tofilat, a member of the supervisory board of Moldovagaz (then the national gas supplier company), as he "blocked the procurement of gas by the responsible institutions when prices were the most affordable". Recean also announced that he would directly assume the role that the energy minister had and that he called for the establishment of a state of emergency in energy starting from 16 December. He managed the energy ministry until Dorin Junghietu's appointment as minister on 19 February 2025.
Also on 5 December, 26 members of the Parliament of Moldova for the Bloc of Communists and Socialists (BCS), the main opposition formation, presented a motion of no confidence against the Recean Cabinet over the energy situation, also calling for early parliamentary elections. Ion Ceban, the Mayor of Chișinău and president of the National Alternative Movement (MAN), called for the resignation of the cabinet and the organisation of early parliamentary elections following Recean's sackings, and so did the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). The Moldovan parliament rejected the motion on 13 December, with 55 votes against, 18 votes in favor and one abstention, well short of the 55 votes in favor required for a successful motion.
Declarations of states of emergency On 11 December, Transnistria's legislature, the Supreme Council, approved a state of economic emergency for a period of 30 days as ordered by the President of Transnistria, Vadim Krasnoselsky, in the face of the possible end of gas supplies to Transnistria. This measure foresaw the rationalization of gas consumption, the creation of a reserve of energy resources, the end of the export of energy resources with the exception of electricity and the preservation of human life and health.
The Moldovan parliament approved two days later the establishment of a nationwide state of emergency for a period of 60 days, which would come into effect on 16 December. 56 of the 101 parliament members voted for its approval. Recean added that this was a necessary measure "so that this winter will be the last in which the Kremlin can threaten our energy security" and that "energy blackmail" would end with the completion of the Vulcănești–Chișinău line that was to connect with Romania. Following this, the Romanian energy minister, Sebastian Burduja, announced that Romania would help Moldova overcome the energy crisis and that the Romanian energy companies Nuclearelectrica and Hidroelectrica were already in talks with Energocom to explore options to supply additional electricity to Moldova.
Gazprom's confirmation of the end of gas supplies On 17 December, the Moldovan energy ministry announced that Gazprom had not reserved any capacity to transport gas through the Trans-Balkan pipeline for Transnistria for January 2025 after the auctions for the month took place the previous day. Gazprom formally notified Moldovagaz on 28 December that gas supplies to Moldova would be completely stopped on 1 January 2025 at 08:00 MSK (07:00 in Moldova, 05:00 UTC). Gazprom cited Moldovagaz's alleged failure to fulfill its payment obligations under the contract as the reason, and stated that it retained the right to completely terminate the agreement between the two and demand compensations from Moldovagaz. In response, Recean announced that Moldova would not accept any debt invalidated by the international audit and that Russia was using energy as a political weapon. On the same day, Tiraspoltransgaz, Transnistria's largest gas supplier company, cut off the gas supply to several buildings of the Moldovan authorities in the Security Zone and in the city of Bender (Tighina).
Also on the same day, the opposition Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM), led by former president Igor Dodon, called on the government, which it blamed for the situation, to find solutions regarding the problem of the debt demanded by Gazprom and re-establish dialogue with Russia to continue the supply of gas and prevent a humanitarian crisis. Recean accused the Socialists of attempting to pressure the government into accepting the 700 million dollars debt, denied the existence of Gazprom's demanded debt and referred to the Socialists as "political speculators of the Kremlin".