Baltic countries are disconnected from the Russian electricity network, a “victory for democracy” welcomes the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are disconnected from the Russian electricity network on Saturday to join the European system, a process launched years ago and became urgent since the invasion of Ukraine by Moscow. The three Baltic countries, ancient Soviet republics, integrated into the European Union and NATO since 2004, have been linked to the Russian network since the USSR era.
“We are facing Russia the possibility of using the electrical system as a geopolitical blackmail tool”summed up the Lithuanian Minister of Energy, Zygimantas Vaiciunas. On X, the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, former Estonian Prime Minister, greeted “A victory for democracy”.
Official celebrations are planned in the three countries. Latvia will physically cut an electrical cable on Saturday connecting it to Russia, and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is to participate in a ceremony with Baltic leaders on Sunday in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The process has taken many years due to many technological and financial problems and the need to diversify the supply in particular via in particular underwater cables.
The change became urgent after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which woke up in the Balts the fear of being the next aims by Moscow.
The three countries have since stopped buying Russian gas and electricity, but their electrical networks have remained connected to Russia and Belarus, the regulation of the frequency being controlled from Moscow. So they always depended on Russia for a stable, crucial flow of electricity for devices requiring a reliable power supply, especially in industrial processes.