The halt of Russian gas to Europe by Ukraine has put the breakaway Moldovan region into crisis mode.

• The termination of a five-year gas transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine has left Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria in a severe energy crisis.
• Moldova, along with Slovakia and Austria, was considered one of the countries most vulnerable to the halt in Russian gas supplies.
• Moldova's separatist pro-Russian enclave, Transnistria, seceded from the country in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Despite being internationally recognized as part of Moldova, it remains an independent state.

The termination of a five-year gas transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine has left Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria in a severe energy crisis.

In Transnistria, a region predominantly populated by Russian speakers, hundreds of thousands of individuals are now facing the winter months without heating or electricity due to Ukraine's decision to halt the supply of Russian gas to several European countries on New Year's Day.

Moscow's dominance over Europe's energy markets ended with the widely expected stoppage confirmed by Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom on Wednesday.

Moldova, along with Slovakia and Austria, was considered one of the countries most vulnerable to the halt in Russian gas supplies.

Last month, a landlocked country in northeastern Europe's Balkan region declared a 60-day state of emergency due to energy security concerns.

Moldova's separatist pro-Russian enclave, Transnistria, seceded from the country in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Despite being internationally recognized as part of Moldova, it remains an independent state.

Due to the cut-off of Russian gas supplies on Wednesday, the region has been forced to close almost all industrial companies except for food producers.

According to Reuters, Sergei Obolonik, first deputy prime minister of Transdniestria, stated on a local news channel on Thursday that all industrial enterprises in the region are idle except for those involved in food production, which ensures food security for Transdniestria.

"The situation is too complex to predict its outcome. If the issue persists for an extended period, irreversible changes will occur, causing enterprises to lose their ability to launch."

'A serious test'

Since Wednesday, Russian gas has no longer been reaching Moldova through Ukraine due to the unwillingness of both Moscow and Kyiv to agree on a new gas transit deal amid the ongoing conflict.

Since 1991, Russia has been transporting gas to Europe through Ukrainian pipelines. Now, Russia claims that European Union countries will be most affected by the supply shift. Moscow can still send gas via the TurkStream pipeline, which connects Russia with Hungary, Serbia, and Turkey.

The EU's executive arm, the European Commission, has been collaborating with the member states most affected by the conclusion of the gas transit agreement to ensure that the entire 27-nation bloc is prepared for this situation.

Despite not being an EU member state, Moldova, which recently voted in favor of closer ties with the EU, is currently experiencing a significant gas shortage.

Vadim Krasnoselsky, the leader of Transnistria, stated on Thursday via Telegram that the situation is challenging, but social collapse is not an option.

Over 1,500 apartment buildings in the region are without heat and hot water, according to Krasnoselsky, who stated that more than 2,600 facilities are currently without these necessities.

On Wednesday, he stated that Transnistria's primary power plant had switched to coal following the halt of Russian gas supplies and predicted that the enclave would have enough gas reserves to sustain limited usage in its northern areas for 10 days and twice as long in the south.

An energy crisis occurred in Transnistria at the start of the year due to an unfavorable combination of external factors, as stated by Krasnoselsky, according to a translation.

Moldova elections

Dorin Recean, Moldova's Prime Minister, stated on Friday that the country is facing a security crisis due to the halt of Russian gas supplies through Ukraine and accused the Kremlin of engaging in "gas blackmail."

The Transnistrian region, home to 350,000 residents, faces a potential humanitarian crisis, according to a statement on the government's website.

Recean stated that Russia's actions in jeopardizing the future of the protectorate it has supported for three decades in an attempt to destabilize Moldova will ultimately lead to betrayal and isolation for all its allies.

He stated that the situation in Moldova is being viewed as a security crisis aimed at allowing pro-Russian forces to regain control and arming our territory against Ukraine, with whom we share a 1,200 km border.

In the first days of 2025, Moldova's prime minister announced that the country had secured its electricity supply, with half of its energy consumption coming from domestic sources and the other half from imports.

The Russian Embassy in London did not respond to CNBC's request for comment.

The parliament of Moldova stated last year that the halt of Russian gas to its Transnistrian region could result in a humanitarian crisis and pose risks to the country's energy sector stability.

Moldova, situated between Russia and Ukraine, will soon hold parliamentary elections that will determine its future ties with the EU.

In November 2019, European leaders congratulated Maia Sandu on winning the presidential election in Moldova. The election was viewed as a significant step towards Moldova's integration with the EU.

— CNBC's Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.