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.

A renegade part of Moldova once boasted it would become a Russian-speaking Switzerland. Now without gas, its leader assured residents, “We will not allow a societal collapse.”

By bne IntelliNews The Moldovan separatist region of Transnistria has entered its third day of a severe energy crisis following the cut-off of Russian gas supplies, prompting widespread disruptions to industrial companies and public services.

Moscow breakaway region of Transnistria halted almost all industrial activity except for food production, following the end of Russian gas flows through Ukraine, Interfax reported.

Ukraine has refused to renew a deal with Russia to transport gas across its territory to Europe. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Moldova had previously offered to assist the Russian-occupied region in securing gas via European platforms to mitigate the energy crisis. Transnistrian officials rejected the offer, saying they believe Gazprom will resume Russian gas supplies.

The separatist Moldovan region of Transnistria has stopped heating and hot water supply to households after the cessation of gas transit through Ukraine.The

The breakaway region of Moldova suffered a direct blow when the flow of Russian gas to central and eastern Europe via Ukraine was cut off yesterday

Vadim Krasnoselsky, the leader of the unrecognised republic of Transnistria in Moldova, has said that there are "no hopeless situations" and called for heating with firewood amid the loss of gas and heating in the homes of thousands of people in Transnistria.