Historic for Europe, blow for Russia – Baltic states cut electricity lines with Russians

More than three decades after leaving the Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania began to disconnect from the Russian electricity grid and join that of the European Union.

The two-day process began this morning, and citizens were advised to stock up on equipment, stock up on food and water, and prepare for inclement weather, reports the Daily Mail. bbc.

Many were advised not to use elevators, while in some areas traffic lights will be turned off. A giant, specially designed clock will count down the final seconds before tomorrow's ceremony in the Lithuanian capital, which will also be attended by EU President Ursula von der Leyen.

All three nations will officially switch from the network connecting them to Russia, which has existed since the post-World War II period.

The network known as Brell, which includes Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, is almost entirely controlled by Moscow and has been considered a threat to the former Soviet republics, which are now part of NATO.

Lithuania released footage of the literal cutting of power lines transporting electricity from Russia.
Russia-occupied Kaliningrad exclave is now on its own. There's still a gas pipeline going from Russia to Kaliningrad through Lithuania. Hopefully that's next. https://t.co/nX6I3AF42a pic.twitter.com/8FM0kRH4ob

- Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) February 8, 2025

Despite the fact that none of these countries has purchased electricity from Russia since 2022, their connection to the Brell grid has left them dependent on Moscow for energy supplies.

After the disconnection, the three states will conduct frequency tests before integrating into the European network via Poland on Sunday.

"We are now removing Russia's ability to use the energy system as a tool of geopolitical blackmail," Lithuania's Energy Minister, Zygimantas Vaiciunas, told the AFP news agency.

"This is the culmination of efforts that have lasted more than 10 or 20 years to reduce energy dependence. When the Baltic states joined the EU and NATO, everyone said they were energy islands that still depended on this common energy network with Belarus and Russia," Professor David Smith from the Baltic Research Unit at the University of Glasgow added to the BBC.

Tensions between the Baltic states and Russia, which share an 874km border, have increased since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Since then, a series of suspected sabotages involving electricity grids and gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea have sparked fears that Moscow could react to the EU's energy transition. /Telegraph/