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’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.

Vadim Krasnoselsky, the leader of the unrecognised republic of Transnistria in Moldova, has said that there are "no hopeless situations" and called for heating with firewood amid the loss of gas and heating in the homes of thousands of people in Transnistria.