Russia Says Its Baltic Submarine Cable Damaged By “External Influence”
Russia’s state-owned telecommunications giant Rostel announced on February 8 that one of its submarine cables in the Baltic Sea was damaged by “external influence”.
The company did not specify the cause of the damage, but confirmed that repair work was underway. According to AFP, Rostel said the incident did not affect consumers.
The damage is part of a series of recent disruptions to submarine communications and cables in the Baltic Sea. Western experts and officials accuse Russia of waging a hybrid war against countries supporting Ukraine.
On January 30, Norwegian authorities seized the Silver Dania ship with Russian crew on board on suspicion of damaging an underwater fiber optic cable connecting Latvia and Sweden.
NATO responded by increasing patrols to protect critical submarine infrastructure.
On the same day, the Finnish Coast Guard reported that a Russian ship was repairing a damaged submarine cable in the Gulf of Finland. Finnish authorities confirmed that the incident occurred within Finland’s exclusive economic zone, but did not disclose details such as how and when the damage occurred.
In response to growing submarine security concerns, NATO launched a rotational mission in January to protect critical infrastructure in the region. Dubbed “Baltic Guardian,” the operation includes aircraft, frigates, submarines and drones to monitor the region for potential threats.
Similar incidents have been reported in the past, when Finnish authorities discovered damage to another Russian telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea. The incident coincided with disruptions to submarine infrastructure in Sweden and Finland, further raising suspicions of sabotage.
