The European Union has restored electricity and heating to the Moldovan region occupied by Russia.

The administration of the Moldovan region of Transnistria, which is controlled by Moscow, has ceased power outages and has begun restoring heating in apartments. After a month, natural gas supplies, funded by the European Union, have resumed.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing Reuters.

Transnistria relied on Russian gas that passed through Ukraine; however, Kyiv refused to extend the transit agreement after the New Year, stating that it helps finance Russia's invasion.

The Moldovan energy company "Moldovagaz" delivered the first batch of natural gas amounting to 3 million cubic meters on February 1.

"The current priority is to launch the heating system," said Vadim Krasnoselsky, the self-proclaimed "president" of Transnistria, to journalists.

According to him, it is necessary to raise the temperature in the central heating system to ensure that residents receive warmth in their homes. "The rolling power outages have stopped," he added.

Krasnoselsky expressed gratitude to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, for providing 64 million euros to finance gas supplies.

He also expressed unusual thanks to Moldovan specialists for overseeing gas supplies to prevent a complete loss of pressure in the pipeline system.

Residents have found relief as normal daily life returns to the region of 350,000 people, where Russian "peacekeepers" have remained for over three decades following a brief conflict between the region and the newly independent Moldovan state.

EU Assistance

EU funding is aimed at ensuring gas supplies for Transnistria's needs during the first 10 days of February, and no agreements have been reached on this matter yet. Krasnoselsky stated that the available gas should be used "with maximum efficiency."

The state gas distribution company "Energocom" has been purchasing gas for Transnistria on European markets since February 1, amounting to about 3 million cubic meters per day.

Part of the EU funds will be used by the Moldovan government to provide electricity for its own population.

Moldova used the thermal power plant in Transnistria to ensure cheap electricity but has decided that it is more economically advantageous to purchase electricity from suppliers in European countries.

Gas supplies have long been a source of tension between Russia and Moldova. After Ukraine refused to extend the transit agreement, Moldova approached "Gazprom" with a proposal to supply gas via alternative routes, primarily through Turkey.

"Gazprom" stated that Moldova must first settle its debt, which it estimates to be 709 million dollars, but this figure is disputed by Chișinău.