Prof David Smith of the Baltic Research Unit at the University of Glasgow told the BBC: “It’s the culmination of efforts over more than 10 years or 20 years, to reduce that energy dependence.
“When the Baltic States joined the EU and Nato, everybody talked about them being an energy island that was still dependent on that joint electricity network with Belarus and Russia. That’s been completely broken now.”
Tensions have risen between the three countries and Russia, who collectively share a 543-mile-long border, since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In the last two years, there have been a series of suspected sabotage operations on European undersea power cables, something that many analysts have the blame for at the Kremlin’s doors.
Recently, a ship from Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers was accused of damaging Estonia’s main power link in the Gulf of Finland, although Moscow has not taken responsibility for the damage.
But the activity has led to heightened fears that the Russians might retaliate against the decision to disconnect from their power grid.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said: “Clearly there are risks, we understand that very well, but the risks are identified and there is a contingency plan.”
The head of Estonia’s Cybersecurity Centre, Gert Auvaart, told the BBC in a statement that Russia “may attempt to exploit this period to create uncertainty”, but said that due to international co-operation, Estonia was “well-prepared even for worst-case scenarios”.
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Publish date : 2025-02-08 07:55:00
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