With Russia cutting off the gas supply in an attempt to destabilize Moldova ahead of its 2025 parliamentary elections (a last ditch effort after the pro-EU Maia Sandu won a second presidential term), Transnistria is quickly spiraling into a full blown humanitarian crisis.🧵
The pro-Russian Transnistrian "authorities" have completely cut off the hot water and heating supply to urban areas, with residential buildings only receiving "enough gas to cook".
Even so, the 13 million m3 of gas left are estimated to completely run out in 14 days, at best.
The unrecognized separatist republic has ordered all 130 schools to shut down, with only 40 out of the 150 kindergartens to be kept open.
With less than half of the population having any sort of internet access, switching to online learning is very much a fantasy.
With firewood being a luxury that can be ill afforded by most the population, the "authorities" have began issuing "wood welfare" tickets, allowing people to come and pick up dead wood by themselves and leading to the region's "forest districts" being overwhelmed with calls.
Starting today, the activity of several hundreds of companies and enterprises has been placed "on-hold" for an undetermined period of time, leading to several tens of thousand of people now being unemployed.
To gauge the scale of the disaster, the region's population is 500k.
The so called "Transnistrian Ministry of Health" has began issuing " emergency recommendations on how to avoid hypothermia and frostbite", advising the population to insulate doors and windows with thick blankest and to "gather all family members in one room".
On top of an inflated historical "gas debt", Russia's favorite justification for shutting off the gas supply is Ukraine's refusal to renew the gas transit agreement with the Kremlin, which Moscow would have been perfectly capable of bypassing through the Trans-Balkan pipeline.
Severely affected as well, Moldova is set to overcome the crisis largely due to Romanian aid.
Romanian Energy Minister: We have a moral duty to stand by our brothers in Moldova with every means at our disposal. Romania's message is clear: brothers will forever be brothers!
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