Moldova declares state of emergency as Russia-Ukraine gas deal ends

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00:00As the Russian gas pipeline is turned off, Moldovans are worried about where their heating

00:04for the rest of the winter will come from.

00:07The country's government has announced a 60-day state of emergency in response to the energy

00:12crisis.

00:13Russian gas giant Gazprom announced that it would halt deliveries of gas to the former

00:17Soviet Republic because of money it says it is owed by Kizilnau.

00:22But the Moldovan government disputes this.

00:24The crisis has left many ordinary Moldovans concerned.

00:28I feel we're going into a crisis that will be very difficult to solve at this moment

00:35and I don't really see a way out of it and it worries me.

00:39Price increases are one thing, but when there's no gas at all, that's something entirely different.

00:45There will be no heating, no lights, so we're entering a very difficult year.

00:52The situation is compounded further by Ukraine ending a five-year agreement to allow Russian

00:57gas to be transferred through its territory.

01:00Almost a third of the Russian gas sold to Europe is transported via Ukraine, mainly

01:05through the Brotherhood and Soyuz pipelines.

01:08Most of the rest comes via the TurkStream black sea route.

01:11Kiev's cutting off the gas means that central European countries have been scrambling to

01:16find alternatives.

01:17They are alternatives, but they tend to be a bit more expensive than the Russian pipeline

01:22gas.

01:23The impact will be felt, especially in Austria, in Hungary and Slovakia, where the price of

01:27gas will likely rise and this could have an impact on consumer prices, on the cost of

01:35living, but also on prices for industry.

01:39While Hungary gets most of its gas via TurkStream, it had been keen to keep supplies through

01:44Ukraine open.

01:45Slovakia, whose Prime Minister Robert Fico is an ally of Moscow's, has threatened retaliation

01:51by cutting off electricity supplies to Ukraine.

01:54Fico insists that Kiev's move will hurt Europe more than it will Russia, though Gazprom will

01:59lose $5 billion in sales.

02:02Another rise in energy prices could also result in further grumbling in some EU countries

02:07about Western support for Ukraine.

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