Gazprom will cease supplying natural gas to the Moldovan company Moldovagaz, which "will leave pro-Russian Transnistria in the cold," reports "Gazeta Wyborcza" on Tuesday. The energy crisis will pose a challenge for Chisinau during the year of parliamentary elections.

Russian energy giant Gazprom is set to stop gas flow to Europe via Ukraine as a key transit deal expires, severing a major link in Europe’s once-dependent energy supply chain. Europe has shifted to alternative energy sources from the U.

Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom says it will halt gas supplies to Moldova starting on Jan. 1, citing alleged unpaid debt by the east European country.