The crisis prompted a question: will the breakaway region, occupied by Russia since 1992, survive without Russian gas? Free-of-charge Russian gas had been the backbone of Transnistria's economy and ensured the preservation of the breakaway region and its de facto independence from Moldova.

Moldovan citizens will vote this year in parliamentary elections. There is a risk that their vote will derail Chisinau's European course. Only time will tell how Europe will react, Vitalie Cojocari writes.

The head of Moldova’s breakaway region Transnistria has urged residents to burn firewood for heating and warned that blackouts cannot be avoided, after Moscow stopped supplying gas via Ukraine.

One option is Russia to start shipments through the Balkan corridor (Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania), without Moldova paying off the arrears, an analyst explained.

Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region expects to receive Russian gas again soon to meet its needs, its leader Vadim Krasnoselsky said on Wednesday, two weeks into crippling power cuts in the Russian-backed enclave.

Russia will resume gas supplies to Transnistria in the form of humanitarian aid, the head of the Moscow-controlled breakaway region said on Jan. 15, but those to the rest of Moldova will remain cut off.