After the disconnection plans were announced, propaganda campaigns cropped up on social media and in printed leaflets in city streets that issued fake-news warnings about blackouts, severe energy shortages and sky-high energy bills for consumers.

The attacks come as Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania prepare to cut on February 8 their electricity links to Russia and Belarus.

The severing of electricity ties to oil- and gas-rich Russia and switching to European grids is steeped in geopolitical and symbolic significance.

Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are to disconnect from the Russian power grid on Saturday, a politically-charged move that severs their Soviet-era energy ties with Moscow.