More than 51,000 households were left without gas and 1,500 apartment buildings had no winter heat in Moldova's Moscow-backed separatist enclave, authorities said on Monday, as Moldova and Russia traded blame for an escalating energy crisis.

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.

Russia denies using gas as a weapon to coerce Moldova, and blames Kyiv for refusing to renew a gas-transit deal.

"Russian propaganda tries to create a story in which Moldova becomes a ‘problematic actor,’ although the government has proposed clear solutions to avoid the crisis," Moldovan government spokesperson Daniel Voda said on Jan.

The Moldovan government has stated that the energy crisis in the unrecognised republic of Transnistria, caused by the halt in Russian gas supplies, is part of a broader Russian plan of manipulation and propaganda.

More than 51,000 households were left without gas and 1,500 buildings had no heating in Moldova’s separatist region Transdniestria, authorities told Reuters. The development comes after Ukraine had refused to transit Russian gas through its pipelines to Europe.