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.

This separatist sliver of Moldova will run out of energy in three weeks, the head of its Russia-backed government has said. Once proud, go-it-alone and richer than their neighbors in Moldova ...

The leader of Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniestria has travelled to Moscow for talks to resolve an energy crisis following the suspension of Russian gas deliveries, Transdniestria's news agency reported on Tuesday.

Every time planned electrical outages are imposed on his village in southern Moldova, 73-year-old retiree Vasili Donici passes the time by solving crosswords and puzzles in a room he illuminates using a small gas lamp.

Moldova has not received any gas from Russia since Jan. 1, aleaving many homes uncomfortably cold. This hits the pro-Russian separatists in Transnistria the hardest, but it also puts the government in Chișinău under pressure.

"Russian propaganda tries to create a story in which Moldova becomes a ‘problematic actor,’ although the government has proposed clear solutions to avoid the crisis," Moldovan government spokesperson Daniel Voda said on Jan.

Russia plans to resume natural gas flows to Moldova’s pro-Russian breakaway region of Transnistria amid an energy crisis, according to Vadim Krasnoselsky, leader of the self-proclaimed republic.

The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia was ready to provide gas to Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region, but needed logistical support from Moldova to make that happen. Vadim Krasnoselsky, the leader of the separatist enclave supported by Moscow,

President Vadim Krasnoselsky added that Transnistria and Russia are set to continue cooperation in various spheres, including socio-economic, medical, educational

Oleg Ozerov spoke in favor of restoring negotiations in the international "5+2" format on the Transnistrian settlement and direct dialogue between Tiraspol and Chisinau, noting that Russia is ready to

Russia has long used its plentiful energy resources as a tool to exert control over the region, where independence from Russian energy is tied to political sovereignty.