Ukraine is ready to provide Moldova with coal and send its specialists to the Moldovan DRES, located in unrecognized Transnistria, to increase electricity production.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this at a press conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu.
According to Zelensky, Ukraine can provide coal to Moldova, including supplying it to the unrecognized Transnistria for electricity generation.
The President explained that the Moldovan DRES can produce 10 times more electricity — from 220 megawatts to 2 gigawatts.
"If our people go there, it will be able to produce 2 gigawatts for sure. That is, 10 times more, and more than is needed. If we give them coal at a low price, or even for free, if we can get electricity instead of this coal. Itʼs fair: we give coal, they get electricity for themselves, for all of Moldova, we get electricity for ourselves," Zelensky said.
Energy crisis in Transnistria
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 announced 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.
The Transnistrian Republic of Moldova has refused to help Moldova purchase gas on European markets — they are waiting for the Russian Gazprom to resume supplies.
On January 15, Krasnoselsky announced that Russia would resume gas supplies to unrecognized Transnistria — doing so in the format of humanitarian and technical assistance.
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