Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are still connected to Russia's electricity grid, but that's going to change soon in another sign of their confidence in the EU. With the move they turn the page on their Soviet past.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will flip the switch on Feb. 9, disconnecting themselves from a regional electricity grid known as BRELL, and will switch to a European Union regional network instead. The move has been years in the making — but now that the time has come, security officials are bracing for retaliation from Moscow.

During the Soviet era, the Baltic states' electricity systems were integrated into the IPS/UPS grid, managed centrally by Moscow. This arrangement persisted even after the countries regained independence,

The Baltic nations have announced plans to disconnect from the Russian-controlled power grid in February 2025, marking a move toward energy independence.

After the disconnection plans were announced, propaganda campaigns cropped up on social media and in printed leaflets in city streets that issued fake-news warnings about blackouts, severe energy shortages and sky-high energy bills for consumers.