The president of Transnistria, Vadim Krasnoselsky, expressed gratitude to the European Commission and Ursula von der Leyen for their help in addressing the gas crisis.
Moldova’s Emergency Situations Commission convened a meeting where officials decided to provide European gas to the republic, with technical matters under discussion.
Krasnoselsky wrote on his Telegraph channel to acknowledge the support and efficiency of Ursula von der Leyen and her colleagues.
The leadership of Transnistria indicated that electricity production would begin that evening.
The priority now is to launch the heating system. The central heating network will be expanded so residents have warmth by the weekend, and gas supplies to homes are planned to start the next day.
Gas deliveries were halted.
Moldovagaz had already begun delivering the first batch of gas into Transnistria to support the pipeline, with a total plan to transfer about three million cubic meters.
Millions of euro treaties
A funding agreement worth €64 million was signed between Moldovan authorities and the European Union to provide financial support.
The government explained that the initial tranche of €30 million would be split in two parts: Energocom would purchase €20 million in natural gas as urgent humanitarian aid for Transnistria, and €10 million would fund electricity purchases to secure the right bank on the Dniester.
A second tranche of €34 million would be allocated as budget support, with details not disclosed.
Deliveries were expected to continue through Hungarian merchants starting in mid February, according to Kommersant.
Gas blockage
Ukraine halted the transit of Russian gas to Europe and declined to extend its contract with Gazprom, contributing to elevated European gas prices that had risen since late 2023.
This led to a total gas disruption in Transnistria, causing heating and hot water outages in residential buildings.
Officials declared an emergency regime.
Krasnoselsky assessed the Transnistria economy as being in a precarious state.
He cautioned that it would be too early to summarize results, with costs potentially running into tens of millions of dollars per month, straining energy and the economy.
A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Moscow would pursue all possible routes to support gas supply in Transnistria.
She added there should be no illusion about the origin of gas, noting that the fuel originates in Russian fields regardless of its route.
Krasnoselsky added that negotiations with Russia and Hungary would continue to secure a long term gas supply for Transnistria.