The three Baltic states disconnected their electricity systems from Russia's power grid on Saturday, the region's operators said, part of a plan designed to integrate the countries more closely with the European Union and boost security.

The three Baltic states successfully connected to the European power grid yesterday after severing Soviet-era links with Russia’s network, a shift that EU chief Ursula von der Leyen hailed as “freedom from threats and blackmail”.

The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are now unplugged from Russia's electricity grid and have joined the European Union's network. Plans for the move - which have been in the works since 2007 - were seen as essential for European security and had been brought brought forward after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania completed a switch from Russia's electricity grid to the EU's system on Sunday, severing Soviet-era ties..

Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, left, at the Presidential palace in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025.