Daniel Wolfram
“No more blackmail,” says Moldovian President Sandu as the tiny country plugs into new EU energy supplies.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu confirmed a clean break from Russia and its gas on November 8.
The republic has completely halted Russian gas purchases, choosing instead to pivot its energy grid directly toward the West.
A new EU power line is the driving force behind the tiny nation’s break with the Kremlin.
No more blackmail for Moldova
Sandu announced the milestone online while unveiling a major electricity connection to Romania. “For decades, Moscow used energy to blackmail us. No more: Moldova buys zero Russian gas,” Sandu wrote on social media.
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The centerpiece is a 400-kilovolt extra-high-voltage line running 158 kilometers between Vulcănești and Chișinău, a 98-mile link that plugs Moldova directly into the European grid. More is coming. According to Sandu, two additional power routes to Romania are already “on their way.”
These projects represent a dramatic shift for a government determined to join the European Union. Until recently, Moldova relied on Cuciurgan. Located in the Russian-occupied region of Transnistria, the massive power station is the country’s largest generating plant and belongs to Moscow-based giant Inter RAO.
Closing the gas lines
Being less dependent on Russia has become an urgent goal across the European continent. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU moved quickly to slash Russian energy imports, with a complete ban taking effect next year.
For decades, the Kremlin wielded fossil fuels as a political weapon to bully European governments. Moldova has been a victim of that for many years, having to navigate price hikes and supply threats whenever political disputes flared.
Recent peace proposals tested that collective resolve. The United States recently floated a plan to resume Russian gas shipments to Europe through an American intermediary, hoping to generate revenue for Ukraine and help secure a ceasefire.
European leaders pushed back immediately. As an EU official told the Kyiv Independent, the Union is unlikely to agree because member states remain completely committed to shutting off Russian energy for good.
