Moldova started transporting EU-funded gas to the pro-Russian, breakaway region of Transnistria, hit by an unprecedented energy crisis, the government said Saturday. Russian state energy giant Gazprom halted gas supplies to Transnistria on January 1 over a debt dispute with the pro-EU Moldovan government,

Moldova will supply 3 million cubic meters of gas to the Russian-occupied Transnistria region on February 1, under an agreement signed earlier in the week, Reuters reported. Moldovagaz head Vadim Cheban stated that the gas will be delivered as a loan,

The European Union will provide 30 million euros ($31.5 million) to purchase and transport natural gas to Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniestria, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said on Monday.