In brief

• Moldova says it no longer buys any gas from Russia, according to President Maia Sandu.
• A new power line linking Moldova with Romania and the European grid entered operation the same day.
• Ukraine's halt of Russian gas transit last year cut power from a Transnistria plant that supplied most of Moldova's needs.
• Gas prices for Moldovan households reportedly rose about 80 percent from August.

Background to the shift

Moldova no longer buys any gas from Russia, President Maia Sandu confirmed on Sunday. The same day, a power line connecting the country with Romania and the wider European energy network was commissioned (Moldavsko sa definitívne odstrihlo od ruského plynu, Sanduová hovorí o konci energetického vydierania – HNonline.sk) (Moldavsko už nekupuje žádný plyn z Ruska, oznámila prezidentka – Seznam Zprávy).

In a post on X, Sandu said Moscow had for decades used energy supplies to pressure Moldova, and that this was over. She added that two more power lines to Romania are being prepared.

Last year Ukraine halted the transit of Russian gas through its territory. That cut electricity output at a gas-fired plant in the Russian-backed separatist region of Transnistria, which had supplied about four-fifths of Moldova's needs („Vydieraniu je koniec“. Moldavsko dalo ruskému plynu definitívne zbohom. Prezidentka poslala Moskve ostrý odkaz – Pravda.sk).

Moldova then turned to European electricity suppliers, but the existing lines regularly struggled with the extra load. Russian business daily Kommersant reported that since August, gas prices for households in Moldova have risen by an average of 80 percent.

Sandu's assessment

Sandu said that in 30 years of independence Moldova had invested too little in energy interconnections, and that relying on a small number of suppliers had proved costly. She argued that no one could now cut off Moldova's light and heat.

The new line and the planned additional connections are intended to reduce dependence on a single source. Further details on capacity and cost were not included in the reports.