An undersea fiber optic cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged on Sunday, likely as a result of external influence, Latvia said, triggering an investigation by local and NATO maritime forces in the Baltic Sea.
The operation follows a string of incidents that have heightened fears of Russian sabotage and spying in the strategic region.
The mission, dubbed Baltic Sentry, follows worry over increased Russian military activity near key undersea communication cables.
The Swedish prosecutor's office has detained a vessel suspected of damaging a cable in the Baltic Sea, according to the agency's website.
A senior Russian official has said that Moscow will counter any moves by Western military alliance NATO to dominate the Baltic Sea. Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told the Russian television channel Rossiya-24 on Friday that the Western alliance's decision to increase patrols around the Baltic was further proof of NATO's "desire to turn the Baltic Sea into a NATO lake.
Intelligence officials in the U.S. and Europe have suggested that recent incidents damaging critical cables in the Baltic Sea were accidental, according to a Washington Post report. Western geostrategic self-deception has overly emphasized fears of escalation and cornering Russia.
Crew on board an oil tanker accused of sabotaging undersea power and communications cables in the Baltic Sea were poised to cut other cables and pipelines when Finnish authorities boarded the vessel last month,
NATO is launching a new mission to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea region after a string of incidents that have heightened concerns about possible Russian activities, the alliance’s leader said.
A defence spending target of 3% of GDP is more likely than the 5% aim pushed by US President Donald Trump, say members of the parliamentary Defence Committee.
Russia claimed that its forces captured the strategically important town of Velyka Novosilka in the Donetsk region.While it could not be independently verified, the Separate Mechanised Brigade – a ground force formed in 2022 – confirmed withdrawing strategically from some area to avoid encirclement,
An Estonian naval patrol ship sails in the Baltic Sea, 9 January, 2025