Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria will continue to go black on Saturday after Russian gas supplies to the region were halted following Ukraine's decision not to extend a deal under which Moscow had been transporting gas, local authorities said.
Russian gas supplies via Ukraine to central and eastern Europe were halted on Jan. 1 after an agreement allowing shipments to transit between the warring states expired. Kiev has refused to extend the deal with Moscow.
Transnistria officials said the blackout began on Friday evening.
The mostly Russian-speaking region straddles the border between Moldova and Ukraine and broke away from Moldova in the 1990s. The region relies on Russian gas coming through Ukraine and uses it to generate electricity.
The Transnistria government said on its Telegram channel that power would be cut in a large number of areas for three hours between 2 p.m. (12:00 GMT) and 5 p.m.
Transnistria's regional president Vadym Krasnoselsky had earlier said a power outage was inevitable. He added that the region has enough gas reserves for limited use in the north for ten days and longer in the south. He did not say whether there were any plans to supply gas to the region after that period.
In addition, Krasnoselsky said on Telegram today that the power outage could extend to four hours on Sunday. Russia, for its part, denies using gas as a weapon to pressure Moldova, and accuses Kiev of causing the situation by refusing to renew the gas transit agreement.
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