The Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania officially severed their electricity links with Russia on Saturday morning, as officials deactivated the Soviet-era grid’s transmission lines in preparation for integration with the European energy network on Sunday, reports AP
This marked the end of the Baltics' last connection to oil- and gas-rich Russia, more than thirty years after the Soviet Union's collapse. The transition held profound geopolitical and symbolic significance for both the Baltic states and the rest of Europe.
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“The Baltic energy system is finally in our hands; we are in full control,” Lithuania’s Energy Minister, Žygimantas Vaičiūnas, told reporters.
On Saturday, the final transmission lines linking the Baltic states with Russia, Belarus, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad—situated between EU members Poland and Lithuania and the Baltic Sea—were switched off one by one. Lithuania led the process, with a specially designed 9-metre (about 29-foot) tall countdown clock in downtown Vilnius marking the final seconds. Latvia followed a few minutes later, with Estonia completing the disconnection.
For the first 24 hours after detaching from the Soviet-era grid, the Baltic Power System will function independently. If all goes according to plan, the system will connect with European energy networks on Sunday afternoon via multiple links to Finland, Sweden, and Poland.
A ceremony in Vilnius on Sunday evening will be attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the presidents of Poland and the Baltic states, and other dignitaries.
The Baltic countries, all NATO members, have had tense relations with Russia since declaring independence from the USSR in 1990. These ties deteriorated further following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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Over the past few years, sixteen power lines that once linked the Baltic states with Russia and Belarus have been dismantled, as a new grid connecting them with the European Union was established, including underwater cables across the Baltic Sea.
“This is a physical disconnection from the last remaining element of our dependence on the Russian and Belarusian energy system,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda told The Associated Press in a recent interview.
The three Baltic states, which share a combined 1,633-kilometre (1,015-mile) border with Russia and Belarus, informed Moscow and Minsk of their disconnection plans in 2024 to mitigate any hostile reactions.
“We have a protocol with the Russians detailing how everything should be disconnected,” Rokas Masiulis, CEO of Litgrid, stated on Saturday.
Leaders of all three countries reassured their citizens that the transition would proceed smoothly, but precautionary measures were taken to counter potential provocations.
In Latvia, the National Armed Forces and the National Guard were placed on heightened alert, though no incidents were reported early Saturday.
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Meanwhile, Kaliningrad, which has no direct land connection to mainland Russia, already relies on its own power generation, according to Litgrid.