An energy crisis in Transnistria, a pro-Russian territory between Moldova and Ukraine, erupted on Jan. 1 when Moscow stopped supplying natural gas through a pipeline running across Ukraine.

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.

"Russian propaganda tries to create a story in which Moldova becomes a ‘problematic actor,’ although the government has proposed clear solutions to avoid the crisis," Moldovan government spokesperson Daniel Voda said on Jan.