Lithuania said on Saturday it had disconnected its electricity system from Russia's power grid, part of a plan which the three Baltic states say will integrate them more closely with the European Union and boost security.

The Baltic states on Saturday began cutting ties with Russia's power grid in order to integrate with Europe's system, a years-long process that gained urgency with Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Disconnecting from the Soviet-era grid faced an intimidation campaign — but it’s Moscow that could be left in a precarious position.

The Baltic states are set to sever ties with Russia's power grid that date back to the 1950s, and instead integrate further with the European Union, as the suspected sabotage of subsea cables has spurred efforts to strengthen regional security.

Nearly 3 1/2 decades after leaving the Soviet Union, the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania this weekend will flip a switch to end electricity-grid connections to neighboring Russia and Belarus.

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.

More than 30 years after leaving the Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania will join the EU's grid.

The Baltic states will sever the last major energy link to Russia and become part of the EU’s electricity network on Sunday, at a time of deepening fears of further sabotage to critical cables. Estonia,