(Reuters) - Moldovan President Maia Sandu visited areas hit by rolling power cuts on Thursday and blamed Russian gas giant Gazprom for the energy crisis gripping the country's Transdniestria pro-Russian separatist enclave. In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moldova and Ukraine were responsible for the heating and power shortages.

Nearly all employees of Russian energy giant Gazprom, who work on the Nord Stream and Turkish Stream gas pipelines, left the European Union last year. Source: Russian online newspaper The Moscow Times,

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.

Ukrainian transit gas deal to Europe ended on Jan. 1. For now, the most acute effects are being felt in a region called Transnistria, on the eastern edge of Moldova.

Vladimir Putin’s Russia is embroiled in war and plagued by systemic decay — and Donald Trump can exploit its weakness to end its campaign of global instability.

Gazprom said Moldovagaz “regularly fails to fulfill its payment obligations under the existing contract, which is a significant breach of its terms.”View on euronews

Moscow blames Ukraine and Moldova for halting supplies; Chisinau suspects Russia seeks to influence upcoming election.

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 state-owned energy ...

Bucharest could mirror Spain’s recent decision to block a takeover on security grounds, says Sebastian Burduja

But we'll be back tomorrow with more updates on the war in Ukraine. Here are the key lines from today: Outgoing US defence secretary Lloyd Austin announced a $500m (£407m) aid package for Ukraine ...