BRUSSELS, Belgium: Moldova is set to receive 250 million euros (US$258 million) in EU support this year as part of a new energy security plan aimed at reducing the country's reliance on Russian supplies and integrating it into the European energy network.

The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, announced the plan on February 4, saying that 40 percent of the funding would be delivered by mid-April. The initiative follows Gazprom's decision to cut gas supplies to Moldova on January 1, a move that came after Russia and Ukraine's gas transit agreement expired at the end of 2024.

Daily power outages hit Moldova after hundreds of thousands of people in the pro-Russian separatist region of Transnistria were left without heating and hot water last month over an alleged $709 million unpaid gas bill. The Kuciurgan power plant, the country's largest, relied on Russian gas and played a key role in Moldova's electricity supply before Gazprom halted deliveries.

The EU's financial package will help Moldovan consumers cope with rising electricity costs, with 60 million euros ($62 million) specifically allocated to assist 350,000 people in Transnistria.

Moldova, a former Soviet republic with a population of 2.5 million, was heavily dependent on Russian gas before Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Since then, it has been working to diversify its energy sources and align itself more closely with the EU. The bloc itself has also moved away from Russian energy imports in response to the war.

However, Moldova continues to face pressure from Moscow to abandon its westward shift.

Transnistria, a breakaway region, declared independence from Moldova after a brief war in 1992 but is not widely recognized internationally.