Moldova denies Russian gas supplies diverted in Ukraine

CHISINAU: Moldova on Wednesday dismissed allegations from Gazprom that Ukraine was diverting supplies intended for Moldova, after the Russian energy giant accused Kyiv of withholding deliveries and threatened to cut supplies.

Ukraine is a key transit artery for Russian gas supplies to Europe and Gazprom’s threat to slash flows comes as Moldova, Ukraine and many other European countries face an energy crisis.

Moscow has dramatically reduced consignments to Europe in response to Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

Gazprom this week accused Ukraine of preventing around 52.52 million cubic metres from being delivered to Moldova and threatened to reduce volumes starting next week if the “imbalance” was not corrected.

“To be clear, all the gas delivered to Moldova ends up in our country,” Moldova’s Prime Minister Andrei Spinu said on social media Wednesday.

“The volumes of gas that Gazprom refers to as remaining in Ukraine are our savings and reserves stored in warehouses in Ukraine,” he added.

“Let it also be clear that these volumes were and will be fully paid for by our country.”

Spinu explained that Moldova has “over 200 million cubic metres of gas in storage”.

Ukraine earlier denied Gazprom’s allegations, saying that all gas volumes destined to Moldovan consumers have been transferred “in the full amount”.

It also accused Russia of “manipulating facts” to justify reducing deliveries to Europe.

Wedged between Ukraine and Romania, Moldova has seen its Russian gas deliveries slashed and its regular electricity imports dry up.

Its pro-Western president, Maia Sandu, this week warned the country faced a “dramatic energy crisis” this winter due to the war in Ukraine.