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.

KYIV - More than 51,000 households were left without gas and 1,500 apartment buildings had no winter heat in Moldova's pro-Russian separatist enclave, authorities said on Monday, after Ukraine refused to extend a transit agreement with Russia last week.

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.