The authorities of unrecognized Transnistria will remove 11 checkpoints that were set up in the Security Zone
The decision to dismantle the checkpoints was announced by representatives of Transnistria in the Joint Control Commission, News Maker reports.
On the eve of the meeting, Moldovaʼs Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Oleg Serebrian confirmed that Tiraspol had begun dismantling illegal checkpoints that had previously been set up in the Security Zone. According to him, the dismantling of such a checkpoint began in Bender.
Co-chair of the Joint Control Commission from Transnistria Oleg Bilyakov stated that after the dismantling of the checkpoints in the Security Zone, peacekeepers and military observers will check whether these checkpoints have actually been removed and report on this to the Joint Control Commission (JCC).
JCC is a joint body that monitors compliance with the agreements on the peacekeeping mission on the Dniester. Its work was partially blocked by the fact that in 2022 the unrecognized Transnistria set up checkpoints. These actions violated the agreements on the Security Zone regime. This caused criticism from Chisinau.
Now that the checkpoints are being cleared, Transnistria is declaring its readiness to resume the normal work of the commission.
Energy crisis in Moldova
From January 1, 2025, Ukraine stopped the transit of Russian gas, which several EU states and the unrecognized Transnistria continued to receive.
At the same time, Moldova did not agree to Russiaʼs demands to continue supplying gas to Transnistria via an alternative route through the Balkans. Therefore, on December 28, 2024, “Gazprom” officially reported that it would stop supplying gas to Transnistria from January due to "non-fulfillment of payment obligations".
In Transnistria, the supply of heat and hot water to residential buildings has been cut off. In high-rise buildings, gas is available only for cooking. It is supplied from reserves in the gas pipeline system, but only until the pressure in the network drops to a critical level. Industrial enterprises have suspended work, and since January 3, fanned power outages have been introduced.
At first, the Transnistrian Republic refused to help Moldova purchase gas on European markets, waiting for the Russian “Gazprom” to resume supplies.
On January 15, the leader of unrecognized Transnistria Vadim Krasnoselsky announced that Russia would resume gas supplies to unrecognized Transnistria — doing so in the format of humanitarian and technical assistance.
Moldova and the European Commission have developed a plan to end the humanitarian crisis in Transnistria. One of the points was an “emergency intervention” for the period from February 1 to 10. The EU offered a grant of €30 million for the purchase of natural gas for this period, to generate electricity for the right bank and ensure natural gas consumption for the left bank.
The EU also offered €60 million to support residents of unrecognized Transnistria, but only under certain conditions — if the region implements human rights reforms.
At the same time, Moldova and unrecognized Transnistria signed a contract to supply three million cubic meters of gas on credit. Krasnoselsky said that Russia would provide the region with a loan to pay for Moldovan gas.
The gas transportation company “Moldovagaz” began supplying gas to the Transnistrian region on February 1, replacing Russiaʼs “Gazprom”. The gas that “Moldovagaz” pumped was provided by Chisinau and the European Union to prevent pressure drops in the pipelines and a humanitarian crisis after the cessation of Russian gas supplies.
European gas supplies to Transnistria ended on February 10. The region will then be supplied with gas by a Hungarian company with the participation of “Moldovagaz”. This will be done using a loan from the Russian Federation.
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