"Putin, Slovak PM discuss gas transit, standardizing ‘mutual relations,’ Fico says after Kremlin meeting“In a long conversation ... Putin and I exchanged views on the military situation in Ukraine, the possibilities of an early peaceful end to the war, and on mutual relations between the Slovak Republic and the Russian Federation, which I intend to standardize.”The Kyiv IndependentAbbey FenbertRussia's blackoutsThe leader of the Russian-controlled Transnistria declared a state of economic emergency on Dec. 6. Heaters, as well as basic goods like rice, grains, matches, salt and so on, have disappeared from shops, hoarded by the local population in anticipation of the crisis ahead.Following decades of relying on free Russian gas, the Moscow-controlled region will now need to pay market prices, lowered by energy bill relief schemes provided by the Moldovan government.Authorities in Chisinau and experts expect that Russia will eventually cover Transnistrian gas needs, however, ensuring transport via the Trans-Balkan pipeline, to keep the region afloat.They add that the rest of the country will most likely be cut off from future cheap Russian gas imports in order to stir dissatisfaction with rising prices ahead of the 2025 parliamentary elections.Transnistria, on the left bank, and the rest of Moldova, on the right bank, divided by the Dniester, are interdependent, as Moldova relies on cheap electricity produced by the Russian-owned MGRES, a company based in the town of Dnestrovsk, de facto controlled by Transnistria.The energy plant can switch to produce electricity with coal rather than gas but the transition may involve a 10 hour blackout, according to Transnistria's self-declared Economy Minister Serghei Obolonik.