For the second time in a little more than a week, the Republic of Moldova experienced a new power outage. On Wednesday (November 23), the country faced massive power outages, both in Chisinau and in several districts. The culprit was a new wave of Russian bombings of critical infrastructure in Ukraine. Public transport and road traffic in general were seriously affected, as well as the provision of various basic services. And the police immediately published a message urging people how to drive safely in the darkness of the streets when the evening comes.

One of the confusions that immediately arose on both banks of the Prut was why Moldova remains without electricity when Ukraine is bombarded, if Kyiv has stopped supplying electricity to the Republic of Moldova for more than a month, and Romania is the one that provides almost all of the country’s electricity needs?

The explanation is that the energy infrastructures of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova are interconnected, they work as a single network, regardless of what passes through it. Part of the currents between the west and the south of the country continue to pass through Moldova in the direction of Odessa. And in situations of sudden fluctuations in the flow, as it happens during bombings, the lines are disconnected in both countries to avoid congestion.

A new episode with a power outage in a neighboring state once again showed the dangerous situation the Republic of Moldova is in and how extensive the regional consequences of the war in Ukraine are.

The unprecedented energy crisis that Moldova is going through, almost suddenly left without traditional sources of electricity and half of the gas, has become a moment of truth for Romania as well: we can take on the role of the first partner of Moldova, what are we talking about in 30 years?

Read more at Panorama.ro