In the capital of Transnistria, a Kremlin-backed microstate sandwiched between Moldova and Ukraine, the festive New Year’s lights have gone dark ahead of schedule. This separatist sliver of Moldova will run out of energy in three weeks,

Kyiv and Chisinau are working together to find solutions to the ongoing energy crisis in Moldova, President Volodymyr Zelensky and Moldovan President Maia Sandu announced on Jan. 8. The Russian state energy company Gazprom cut off gas supplies to Moldova on Jan.

The sanctions also target Russia's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers.The United States and the United Kingdom imposed further sanctions on Russia's energy sector on Friday in an attempt to curb funding for Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday welcomed new U.S. sanctions against Russia's oil sector and its so-called shadow tanker fleet.

Russia accused Ukraine on Friday of carrying out a missile strike on a supermarket in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. Denis Pushilin, who heads the parts of Donetsk region controlled by Russia,

The report documents violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws, including possible war crimes

Senior Russian security and military officials are pushing for an escalation of hostilities in Ukraine, opposing any prospects of negotiations. Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW) Details: ISW analysts note that Russian security forces deem it crucial to escalate military operations in Ukraine,