Moldova Seeks Deal to Keep the Lights on After Russia Cut Gas Supply
A last minute agreement to resolve a dispute that cut Russian gas supplies to the Moldovan breakaway region of Transnistria could be finalized this weekend.
A man looks on from inside a car during a planned power outage in the Moldovan village of Varnita.
Photographer: Daniel Mihailescu/AFP/Getty Images
Oxana is running out of time. Along with thousands of others in Transnistria, the 38-year-old housewife is caught in a political tug-of-war that could see her home plunged into darkness next week.
On one side is Russia — which has effectively provided Transnistria, the breakaway pro-Kremlin region in Moldova, with free gas for more than two decades. On the other is the Moldovan government, which has ambitions to join the European Union by 2030, and move away from Moscow’s orbit.