The Ministry of Defense has decided to temporarily put out the flame at the Eternity Memorial in Chisinau until the gas supply system is stabilized, it said in a press release.
Rather than being put out completely, the eternal flame has been relocated by the Honor Guard Company to the Museum of Military Glory, where it will be kept in safe conditions.
The measure comes amid uncertainty over gas supplies from Russia, which has caused pressures in the system to drop. This has made the eternal flame at the Memorial vulnerable to weather conditions and prone to self-extinguishing, the Ministry explained.
“Gas leaks in such cases are a public safety hazard”, says the press release, adding that the Ministry of Defense had asked the Chisinau gas supplier for solutions before making the decision.
In 2006, as the Eternity Memorial underwent extensive rehabilitation, the eternal flame had been relocated for six months at the same Museum.
