The Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania officially severed their electricity ties with Russia on Saturday, completing their long-planned integration into the European Union’s power grid.
The move, aimed at securing energy independence, gained urgency following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Lithuanian Energy Minister Žygimantas Vaičiūnas declared that the switch eliminated any possibility of Russia using energy as a geopolitical weapon.
The European Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jørgensen, hailed the transition as a historic day, emphasising that no European nation should remain dependent on Russia.
The disconnection was completed at 9:09 a.m. local time, with Latvia symbolically cutting a power line to Russia.
The Baltics will operate in an “isolated mode” for 24 hours before fully synchronising with the EU’s power grid via Poland on Sunday.
The €1.6 billion project, largely funded by the EU, marks a major step in the region’s energy independence.
Despite concerns over potential disruptions or sabotage, Russia cooperated with the transition, ensuring energy security for its Kaliningrad exclave, now entirely cut off from the Baltic grid.
Estonian and Lithuanian authorities have heightened security around critical energy infrastructure, wary of potential hybrid threats.
