Ukraine reduces electricity exports to Moldova – Moldovan deputy PM

CHISINAU (Reuters) – Ukraine reduced electricity supplies to Moldova by about 30% early on Tuesday, Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu said.

Ukraine announced on Monday that it was suspending electricity exports to the European grid after Russian missile strikes that hit its energy network and killed at least 19 people.

Moldova, a poor former Soviet republic that borders Ukraine and Romania, was already concerned about its energy supplies before the Russian missile strikes on Ukraine on Monday as it is heavily dependent on Russia for gas.

“We are in constant contact with Ukraine, the European Union and Romania in search of a solution to provide the republic with electricity,” Spinu wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Russian state energy company Gazprom said last week that it may switch off gas supplies to Moldova if the country fails to comply with its payment obligations by Oct. 20.

(Reporting by Alexander Tanas, Writing by Timothy Heritage, Editing by Matthias Williams)