Kallas: Baltic out of Russian power grid victory for freedom

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaya Kallas, said the break-up of the Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from Russia's energy grid is a <x0fit for freedom”.

The three EU and NATO member states are expected on Saturday, February 8th to sever electricity ties with Moscow, in a political movement three decades after these countries were freed from Kremlin rule.

“Russia can no longer use energy as a means for blackmailing”, said Kallas, former Prime Minister of Estonia.

This is victory for European freedom and unity”.

The Baltic countries have been preparing for years to break off the Soviet-era electricity network and integrate into the European network, but they have faced technological and financial problems.

Disconnection from the Russian power grid became more urgent after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which sparked fears among the Baltic states that they could be the next target.

After the invasion, they stopped buying Russian gas and energy, but the energy networks of three states continued to be connected to Russia and Belarus, controlled by Moscow.

The EU has generally drastically reduced Russian energy consumption since the war started in Ukraine.

On Saturday, when the three Baltic states officially break off from the Russian network, there are expected to be official celebrations for the event, even though some consumers are concerned that there may be an interruption of the supply.

Latvia will physically interrupt the electricity line with Russia on Saturday, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyeen will participate in a ceremony with the Baltic leaders to be held in Lithuania that same day. / REL/