More than 51,000 households were left without gas and 1,500 apartment buildings had no winter heat in Moldova's Moscow-backed 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.

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.

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.

Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Saturday it would suspend gas exports to Moldova from 0500 GMT on Jan. 1 due to unpaid debt by Moldova, which is bracing for severe power cuts.

Moldova has accused Russia of triggering an energy crisis after tens of thousands of homes in its eastern breakaway region of Transnistria were left without heating, gas or electricity following the end of a Ukraine gas transit agreement last week.

More than 51,000 households were left without gas and 1,500 buildings had no heating in Moldova’s separatist region Transdniestria, authorities told Reuters. The development comes after Ukraine had refused to transit Russian gas through its pipelines to Europe.

Russia denies using gas as a weapon to coerce Moldova, and blames Kyiv for refusing to renew a gas-transit deal.