Dozens of countries met in Paris on Monday for a conference aimed at helping Moldova, a small EU-friendly democracy that has become a major collateral victim of the war in Ukraine.

The nation of 2.6 million people wedged between Ukraine and Romania faces an economic and humanitarian crisis with the onset of winter, having seen its energy deliveries from Russia slashed in half.

"We need to help its population to hold out," French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told journalists before the meeting of 35 mostly Western countries and 15 international institutions.

Like many former Soviet territories, Moldova is the scene of a tug-of-war between pro-Russian and pro-Western political currents, with the current government firmly in the latter category.

It officially applied to join the European Union just after Russia invaded Ukraine in February and the nations gathered in Paris Monday are keen to keep the country in the EU's orbit -- rather than Russia's.

Harvard-educated President Maia Sandu has warned the country risks running out of gas and electricity this winter, with gas prices rising 600 percent in the last year.

Even after two previous donor conferences in March and July, Moldova needs an additional 1.1 billion euros (dollars) to get through this winter, Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu said earlier this month.

"In the case of Moldova we are talking about the need to maintain peace, stability and security," he told reporters at the start of the meeting on Monday.

"And all the help that we are getting is an investment into our common stability in Moldova, but also the rest of Europe."

Russian energy giant Gazprom has slashed its gas supplies, while Moldova can no longer rely on Ukraine for electricity imports after repeated Russian air strikes on Ukrainian power infrastructure.

Ukraine previously provided for 30 percent of Moldovan electricity demand, with the remaining 70 percent coming from a thermal power station in Transnistria, a small breakaway region where Russian troops are stationed.

The separatists have also cut deliveries to the rest of the country.

EU member Romania has stepped in to sell gas and electricity to Moldova at reduced prices, while the government has implemented energy-saving measures.

Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu told reporters Monday that Romania was supplying "between 80 and 90 percent" of the country's electricity needs but more needed to be done to make the supply sustainable and for Moldova to find other sources.

Inflation is Moldova is running at more than 30 percent, leading to warnings about the risk of civil unrest.

Moldova has also welcomed around 80,000 Ukrainian refugees.

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to close Monday's conference and then hold talks with Sandu, who he has met repeatedly this year.

© Agence France-Presse