Baltic states cut Russian electricity ties, ending decades of reliance

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia all disconnected from the Soviet-era grid on Saturday morning and will merge with the European energy system on Sunday.

Transcript

00:00The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania disconnected their electricity systems from

00:08Russia's power grid on Saturday, in order to integrate with Europe's system.

00:14Aimed at integrating the countries more closely with the EU and boosting security, the years-long

00:18process gained urgency with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

00:23Despite worries about possible sabotage and disinformation, no disruptions were reported

00:28during the switch.

00:48For a day and a half, the Baltic states are operating independently.

00:53Their power grids are being synchronized on Sunday afternoon with the continental European

00:57grid.

00:59At the same time, European commissioners, including President Ursula von der Leyen,

01:04are attending the Baltic Energy Independence Day celebration in Lithuania.