COPANCA, Moldova (AP) – Every time there is a power outage in his town in southern Moldova, retired Vasili Donici spends the time solving crosswords and puzzles in a room that he illuminates using a small gas lamp.
“It's a bit difficult without electricity,” said the former school assistant principal who has collected firewood to ensure he can use his wood-burning stove in the room he shares with his wife to stay warm. “There is still gas… but it will run out soon. “
The small town of Copanca is located just a few kilometers across the de facto border from separatist Moldova Transnistria region for Russiawhere hundreds of thousands of people are left without heating and hot water after Russia stop gas supply to the area on January 1, over a debt of $709 million allegedly for supplies passed to Moldova.
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The decision was made by the Russian state energy giant Gazprom, which came into effect a day after a Gas transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine expiredgas supply to the Kuciurgan power plant with Transnistria gas, the largest in the country, which supplied a significant portion of Moldova's electricity, stopped.
Copanca, like more than a dozen towns or villages administered by Moldovan authorities in the capital Chisinau but adjacent to Transnistria, remains intertwined with the separatist region's Soviet-era energy infrastructure that makes them -wounded amid energy crisis.
Daily electricity outages are currently being recorded throughout Transnistria – which includes Kopanca – four hours twice a day. While the Kuciurgan power plant switched to coal and resulted in an unexpected outage, some remaining gas remained in the pipelines.
“It is difficult to cope with the lack of electricity and gas,” said Donici. “Yesterday, we were without power for eight hours. Everyone is scratching their heads, figuring out what to do, so they don't freeze.”
Citing findings from British and Norwegian audit firms, the Moldovan government claims its debt is close to $8.6 million, and has accused Moscow of power over weapons until the European Union candidate country. Russia has denied involvement in Moldova.
Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean this week accused Russia of artificially creating an energy crisis to cause “destabilization in the region” and “affect the results of parliamentary elections” that will later hold Moldova in in 2025.
“What they want to achieve is that there would be a pro-Russian government in Moldova that would ultimately allow the consolidation of Russia's military capability in the Transnistrian region, and accordingly use this leverage over Ukraine,” Recean told reporters in a closed press conference. call with other senior officials on Monday.
Transnistria – which broke away after a brief war in 1992 and is not recognized by most countries – declared a state of emergency last month as the gas crisis loomed. Transnistria has a large majority of about 350,000 people who speak Russian as their first language and about 200,000 are Russian citizens. Russia will also station about 1,500 troops in a frozen conflict zone known as “peacekeepers.”
Moldova has repeatedly claimed that Russia is waging a sprawling “hybrid war” against it with involved in electionsfunding protests against the government and running massive decriminalization campaigns to try to sabotage the government and eliminate the country's EU ambitions.
Last month, the Moldovan parliament was also vote to impose a state of emergency in the energy sector, as the crisis threatened to leave the former Soviet republic without enough energy this winter, and fears that the situation could trigger a humanitarian crisis in Transnistria, where temperatures will often drops to subzero Celsius.
The impending crisis also forced Chisinau to implement a series of energy-saving measures starting January 1, which include reducing lighting in public and commercial buildings by at least 30%, and energy-intensive industries operating at off-peak times.
Moldova's state energy company, Energocom, has increased electricity purchases from neighboring Romania to ensure capacity but they are also more costly. Although a mild January is helping, energy prices have risen and the government has said it will provide help to balance bills.
EU foreign policy chief, Cajawrote on social media platform X this week that Russia “continues to use gas as a weapon and once again Moldova is a target of its hybrid war,” saying “Thank you thanks to EU support, Moldova remains resilient and well connected to European energy networks.”
The Moldovan government this week announced plans to connect more than a dozen cities and towns controlled by Chisinau that are interconnected by energy infrastructure in Transnistria to energy networks in Moldova.
Afanasii Cutzari, the mayor of Copanca, says that it is possible to manage the situation so far with planned electricity outages, but if, or when, the gas runs out, “there will be problems. “
“Where possible, people bought generators, but that's not a solution either,” he said. “Even with a generator, someone has to start, someone who understands how to use it. It needs money, staff. “
Cutzari said institutions in his town including a nursery school, medical facilities, an ambulance, the town hall and the post office would suffer if the gas ran out completely. . “It would be better if electricity and gas were always available,” he said.
Prime Minister Recean said that since the beginning of the energy crisis, his government in Chisinau “has proposed to organize the procurement of gas on behalf of the Transnistrian side,” but that authorities in the de facto capital of the region , Tiraspol, refused.
“Tiraspol is not independent in the decisions it makes,” he said on Thursday. “This crisis is caused by the Russian Federation to destabilize the Republic of Moldova and use the Republic of Moldova in Russia's war against Ukraine.”
After visiting Copanca and other towns in a similar connection on Thursday, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said that some kindergartens and schools have been given power generators, and that mayors can ask for help from Chisinau to fuel , provide wood burning pellets and generators.
“We told them that we are doing our best to provide alternatives that will provide light, water and heat to their families,” she said, adding that Moldova is talking about “possible aid existence” with external partners.
Carina Cazac, who owns a convenience store in Copanca, said that local people rushed to buy essentials such as oil and flour when the crisis hit, and that generators and oil lamps quickly sold out. .
“A lot of people were stressed, and they started buying gas lamps,” she said. “It's easier in the villages because most people have wood-burning stoves … others bought generators.”
But, she said, “Prices have gone up a lot, and not everyone can afford a generator.”
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Associate news writer Stephen McGrath reported from Sighisoara, Romania.
