European governments have accused Russia of heightening hybrid assaults on Ukraine’s Western partners following the severing of two fiber-optic telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea.
“Russia is systematically undermining the security framework of Europe,” stated the foreign ministers of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Poland in a collective announcement.
“The ramping up of hybrid operations by Moscow against NATO and EU nations is also unprecedented in its diversity and magnitude, posing considerable security threats.”
The statement was not issued directly in response to the cable severances, Reuters reported, referencing two European security officials.
War updates: Ukraine launches six long-range US missiles at Russia, according to Moscow
Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defense minister, remarked: “There is no belief that these cables were cut by chance.”
He further stated: “We must also contend, albeit without definitive knowledge, that it is an act of sabotage.”
Investigations have commenced regarding the destruction of the cables that occurred earlier this week.
One of the cables connected Finland and Germany, while the other linked Sweden and Lithuania.
Russia has consistently denied any involvement in the sabotage of European infrastructure and has charged the West with making such allegations to undermine Russian interests.
Further Reading:
Is Putin prepared to activate the nuclear option?
What is the current military position between Russia and Ukraine?
Why UK missiles would have only limited impact on Russia
Investigations into potential sabotage initiated
One cable suffered damage on Sunday morning, while the other ceased operation on Monday.
The Swedish Prosecution Authority has instigated a preliminary criminal inquiry regarding the damaged cables amid suspicions of potential sabotage.
The civil defense minister of Sweden, Carl-Oskar Bohlin, noted that the country’s armed forces and coastguard had observed maritime activity coinciding with the cable damage.
“We naturally take this matter very seriously in light of the severe security climate,” he affirmed.
Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation has also opened an inquiry; however, Sweden will spearhead the investigation.
NATO’s Maritime Centre for the Security of Critical Undersea Infrastructure is collaborating closely with allied nations during this investigation, an official confirmed.
👉 Tune into Sky News Daily on your favorite podcast app 👈
Damage to Baltic Sea infrastructure
This isn’t the first instance of such infrastructure being compromised in the Baltic Sea.
In September 2022, three Nord Stream gas pipelines connecting Russia and Germany were destroyed, seven months subsequent to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
No group has claimed responsibility for the explosions, and while some Western officials initially pointed fingers at Moscow, a claim the Kremlin denied, US and German media indicated that pro-Ukrainian elements might have been behind the incidents.
The entities responsible for the two cables that were damaged earlier this week stated that the cause of the outages remains unclear.
