The flow of electricity between the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and Russia was officially severed Saturday morning after officials switched off the Soviet-era grid’s transmission lines and prepared to join the rest of Europe on Sunday.

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 amid heightened security after the suspected sabotage of several subsea cables and pipelines.

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 forward after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined Europe's power grid Sunday, 24 hours after disconnecting the final cables linking them with the Russian electricity network on Saturday. The three Baltic countries had been connected to Moscow's power grid since Soviet days, along with Belarus and the tiny Russian enclave Kaliningrad.

The Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have officially severed the flow of electricity between themselves and Russia after officials switched off the Soviet-era grid’s transmission lines and joined the rest of Europe.

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 Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are bracing themselves for possible retaliation as they decouple from Russia’s power grid this weekend.

The Baltics severed ties with the Russian grid in a move that aims for closer integration with the EU and stronger regional energy security.