Baltic States unplug from Russian grid, join EU's

European and Baltic leaders ceremonious switch power from Russian grid to EU grid

This is a 'final step toward emancipation from the post-Soviet sphere of dependence,' said Polish President Andrzej Duda

(Image credit: Yauhen Yerchak / Anadolu via Getty Images)

What happened

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined Europe's power grid Sunday, 24 hours after disconnecting the final cables linking them with the Russian electricity network on Saturday. The three Baltic countries had been connected to Moscow's power grid since Soviet days, along with Belarus and the tiny Russian enclave Kaliningrad.

Who said what

The switch from the Soviet-era grid, "controlled almost entirely by Moscow," had "been in the works since 2007" but was spurred forward after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the BBC said. The Baltic countries, which joined NATO and the European Union in 2004, "have not purchased electricity from Russia since 2022," but their link to the grid still "left them dependent on Moscow for energy flow" if their own power generation fell short.

"This is freedom," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said at a ceremony in Lithuania's capital, "freedom from threats, freedom from blackmail." Polish President Andrzej Duda called the Baltic power switch their "final step toward emancipation from the post-Soviet sphere of dependence."

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What next?

The Baltic countries are connected to the EU grid through Finland, Sweden and Poland, and officials expressed concerns that the undersea cables to the two Nordic nations could be severed by Russia's "shadow fleet." But Kaliningrad, which has "historically relied on the Baltic grid to import electricity," may "actually face the most serious challenges," Politico said, though Moscow insists it "can be self-sufficient."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.