Moldova's Moscow-backed separatist region of Transdniestria extended its state of emergency on Friday for another month as it grapples with an energy crisis after losing access to Russian gas supplies that had propped up its economy for decades.

The head of Moldova’s breakaway region Transnistria has urged residents to burn firewood for heating and warned that blackouts cannot be avoided, after Moscow stopped supplying gas via Ukraine.

"Russian propaganda tries to create a story in which Moldova becomes a ‘problematic actor,’ although the government has proposed clear solutions to avoid the crisis," Moldovan government spokesperson Daniel Voda said on Jan.

More than 51,000 households were left without gas and 1,500 apartment buildings had no winter heat in Moldova's pro-Russian separatist enclave, authorities said on Monday, as Moldova and Russia traded blame for an escalating energy crisis.

"Russia is revealing the inevitable outcome for all its allies — betrayal and isolation," Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said on Jan. 3.

Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Saturday it would suspend gas exports to Moldova from 0500 GMT on Jan. 1 due to unpaid debt by Moldova, which is bracing for severe power cuts.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been left without heating and hot water after Russia halted gas supplies to the region on Jan. 1, over an alleged $709 million debt for past supplies.

Russian separatist region of Transnistria in Moldova on January 1. People living there are now really feeling the cold. The first week of 2025 has been cold in Moldova, with nighttime temperatures dropping to around freezing.

The buzzing sound of chainsaws and generators is now common in Varnița, a village of 5,000 that borders Moldova's Russian-controlled region of Transnistria. Located next to the Russian-controlled city of Bender (Tighina),