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Why Lithuania sent police to guard a power link
Summary
A look back at the security measures Vilnius took around its electricity connection with Poland ahead of the Baltic grid switch.
What did Lithuania do to protect its power supply in the days before the Baltic states left the grid shared with Belarus and Russia? On 9 January 2025, the question was still fresh, after a decision announced the previous day.
On 8 January 2025, Lithuanian prime minister Gintautas Paluckas deployed police to secure the country's electricity link with Poland. The move came in response to reported attempts to disrupt the planned decoupling of the Baltic states' power systems from the grid they shared with Belarus and Russia.
The link with Poland was the connection singled out for protection, and the deployment was ordered by the head of government rather than left to routine operations.
A separate story from Washington
Elsewhere in the region's news flow, the U.S. Treasury announced on 7 January 2025 that it was imposing sanctions on Hungarian cabinet minister Antal Rogán. It accused him of using his position to secure financial benefits for himself and political allies, citing alleged corruption.
The two developments were unrelated, but both landed in the days leading up to 9 January 2025 and concerned Ukraine's European neighbourhood.
