They argue that Moldova has not taken any steps in that direction intentionally."There are far too many forces and actors in the Republic of Moldova with whose help the Russian Federation will try to prevent a possible effort to reunify the country and reintegrate Transnistria," Ion Manole, head of Moldovan think-tank Promo-LEX, told the Kyiv Independent."The goal of this crisis is to destabilize the Republic of Moldova and bring it under Russia's total control, and by no means to lose control over the Transnistrian region."A more likely scenario is that Russia will use the ongoing gas and electricity crisis to destabilize Moldova itself and try to bring pro-Russian parties back into power in the upcoming parliamentary elections set to be held in the second half of 2025.As Russia cuts Transnistria from gas, stranded locals search for someone to blameVARNIȚA, Moldova — The buzzing sound of chainsaws and generators is now common in Varnița, a village of 5,000 that borders Moldova’s Russian-controlled region of Transnistria.