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.

Russia denies using gas as a weapon to coerce Moldova, and blames Kyiv for refusing to renew a gas-transit deal.

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