Baltics brace for cyberattacks as they depart Russian electricity grid

By Sam Clark, Victor Jack | 01/31/2025 06:24 AM EST

A long-planned exit from the BRELL power grid has Baltics preparing for Russian retaliation.

Electric power line towers of the Kurzeme Circle (Kurzemes Loks) are pictured.

Žygimantas Vaičiūnas, Lithuania's energy minister, said in an interview that he expects the switch to be a "smooth process" but authorities are nonetheless "prepared for even the worst-case scenarios on the technical level." Gints Ivuskans/AFP via Getty Images

Europe’s Baltics are bracing for cyberattacks as they plan to decouple from a Soviet-era joint power grid with Russia and Belarus in 10 days time.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on Feb. 9 will flip the switch disconnecting them from a regional electricity grid known as BRELL, and 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.

“Estonia has prepared for many possible risk scenarios regarding our departure from BRELL, including cyberthreats,” Gert Auväärt, head of Estonia’s Cyber Security Centre, told POLITICO in a written response. He said the country is ready to call in its cyber reserve, which includes the Estonian Defence League’s cyber unit, a volunteer group of cyber defenders.

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His agency has advised energy companies on how to prepare and has experts on-hand “24/7” in case of a serious incident, Auväärt said, adding Estonia is working with Latvia and Lithuania on the threat.

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