The end of Russian natural-gas transit across Ukraine is a blow to Moscow, but it could provide the Kremlin with sharpened tool for economic and political influence over a key target country: Moldova.

The severing of one of Russia's last gas export routes to Europe is being felt most painfully in a small, mainly Russian-speaking breakaway region of Moldova that has for decades looked to Moscow for protection.

Russian-owned gas giant Gazprom announced in December it would halt gas supplies to Moldova over a dispute over an alleged $709 million debt for past supplies.

By Iulian Ernst in Bucharest Majority state-owned Russian company Gazprom discontinued its gas supplies to Moldova at 7:00am local time on January 1, saying that Moldovagaz, in which the Russian company holds a majority stake,

Russia has accused Moldova of plotting a military operation in Transnistria, a Russian-backed secessionist region, setting off concerns among some analysts that Moscow might be a “false flag” attack in Moldova.

Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Saturday it would suspend gas exports to Moldova from 0500 GMT on Jan. 1 due to unpaid debt by Moldova, which is bracing for severe power cuts.

Russia's energy giant Gazprom claimed the decision was related to Moldova's outstanding debt, not problems with transit via Ukraine.

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STORY: Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniestria has been hit hard by the severing of one of Russia's last gas export routes to Europe. Russia had long provided free gas and had been pumping some 70 billion cubic feet of the fuel to the region per year.

Moldova faces a security crisis, Prime Minister Dorin Recean said on Friday after its separatist pro-Moscow Transdniestria region, cut off from supplies of Russian gas, closed factories, restricted central heating and imposed rolling power blackouts.