Finland and Germany suspect Russian sabotage in the Baltic Sea

Three European countries – Germany, Sweden, and Finland – are investigating a potential act of sabotage in the Baltic Sea after two incidents were detected of critical underwater communication cables being damaged. 

Those incidents prompted calls for better protection of underwater communication cables in the maritime area involving NATO and European member states, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen told Politico in an interview on Nov. 18.

“NATO and [the] EU have to do a lot more to protect this critical infrastructure,” Häkkänen said during a meeting of EU defense ministers in Brussels the following day.

“We know that Russia has [the] capability and willingness to do sabotage in Europe,” Häkkänen said.  “And of course, we are investigating [these] kind of damages also with that kind of point of view, that is there [is] sabotage.” 

He said it was “really unlikely” that a natural accident caused the two incidents.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also believes the damage to the cables was deliberate. 

“Nobody believes these cables were severed by accident,” Pistorius told German broadcaster DW.

Such attacks on critical infrastructure in international waters are unprecedented, the Finish defense minister added. 

“These undersea cables are quite likely the most difficult parts of our societies to protect when they are under international waters, at the seabed. So that’s why this is so difficult for Western countries,” Häkkänen said.

The first reported incident was the malfunction of the cable connecting Finland and Germany, which runs close to the now non-operational Russian Nord Stream underwater pipeline. 

The internet connection cable, nearly 1,200 kilometers long (746 miles), provides a crucial direct communication link between Finland and Central Europe, running alongside other important infrastructure like gas pipelines and electrical cables.

Hours later, news emerged that the internet cable between Lithuania and Sweden had also failed. Although the system has been completely disabled, the cause remains unknown. However, Tagesschau reported that data transmission had not been fully interrupted.

Swedish police have launched a criminal investigation as an act of sabotage, and Lithuania has announced it will enhance surveillance of its territorial waters.

“Further steps will be discussed with allies,” the Lithuanian navy also stated.