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More than 30 years after regaining their independence from the Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have disconnected themselves from the Russian energy system.<\/p>\n
Shortly after 9 am (0700 GMT) on Saturday, the three Baltic countries were disconnected from the electricity grid with Russia, which they had remained connected to since Soviet times.<\/p>\n
The disconnection went smoothly and was not noticed by consumers, according to the grid operators in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. “The systems are stable and secure,” they said in a written statement on Saturday.<\/p>\n
For one day, the electricity grids of the three countries will now function on their own in what is called “island mode” – and will then be integrated into the European system via Poland on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Sili\u0146a spoke of the largest and most important project for energy independence and regional security in decades.<\/p>\n
Power imports from Russia long since stopped <\/strong><\/p>\n Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania stopped importing electricity from Russia as part of the fallout from the invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n However, they were still part of a common, synchronized grid with Russia and Belarus dating back to Soviet times. This was considered a security risk.<\/p>\n After the grid change, they will be able to control the basic parameters of the electricity system themselves, such as frequency and voltage.<\/p>\n “Russia can no longer use energy as a tool of blackmail. This is a victory for freedom and European unity,” wrote the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, on X on Friday.<\/p>\n Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were forced to become part of the Soviet Union after the Second World War until they regained their independence in 1991.<\/p>\n The countries had already been moving towards decoupling from the Russian system, but only at the beginning of 2026.<\/p>\n Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022 accelerated the project, which was largely funded by the EU.<\/p>\n The costs for building the necessary infrastructure totalled around \u20ac1.6 billion ($1.65 billion).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n