(Reuters) - Moldova's Moscow-backed separatist region of Transdniestria extended its state of emergency on Friday for another month as it grapples with an energy crisis after losing access to Russian gas supplies that had propped up its economy for decades.

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.

Russia’s Gazprom PJSC will halt natural gas supplies to Moldova starting on Jan. 1 due to an alleged debt impasse amid a state of emergency in the Eastern European nation’s energy sector.

More than 51,000 households were left without gas and 1,500 apartment buildings had no winter heat in Moldova's pro-Russian separatist enclave, authorities said on Monday, as Moldova and Russia traded blame for an escalating energy crisis.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been left without heating and hot water after Russia halted gas supplies to the region on Jan. 1, over an alleged $709 million debt for past supplies.

Russian separatist region of Transnistria in Moldova on January 1. People living there are now really feeling the cold. The first week of 2025 has been cold in Moldova, with nighttime temperatures dropping to around freezing.