The Baltic Sea has recently been the site of two separate incidents involving undersea internet cables. European officials are now investigating these disruptions as potential acts of sabotage. The first incident occurred on Sunday when Lithuanian telecommunications company Telia reported a cut cable.
A DHL flight has crashed – weeks after authorities warned of Russian parcel bombs on DHL flights.
Let's await the investigation.
But – our adversaries are already targeting companies. They need to ramp up their threat monitoring.https://t.co/blxerQ9lKy (Me @POLITICOEurope)
— Elisabeth Braw (@elisabethbraw) November 25, 2024
Stakes Rise in Baltic ‘Sabotage’ Standoff | "The West once again faces a choice after the latest apparent attack on its critical infrastructure. Any response will come at a high price." @elisabethbraw https://t.co/7iEoxrUbOi
— CEPA (@cepa) November 25, 2024
This was followed by a similar disruption on Monday, affecting a cable connecting Finland and Germany, operated by Finland’s state-controlled telecoms company Cinia. Authorities in Sweden and Finland have launched investigations into the incidents. Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius expressed strong suspicions of sabotage, stating, “Nobody believes that these cables were accidentally severed.” This sentiment was echoed by the foreign ministers of Finland and Germany, who suggested the incidents might be part of a broader strategy involving hybrid warfare.
⚠️Here the latest on Yi Peng 3
👉 German and Swedish Coast Guards joined Danish patrol in vicinity of Yi Peng 3
👉 Sweden intends to follow the vessel when it departs
👉 Investigations launched in Germany, Sweden and Finland.@johnkonrad @mercoglianos https://t.co/a9FFbX8C7e pic.twitter.com/a3q1JCPRZ6— Malte Humpert (@malte_humpert) November 24, 2024
Despite these concerns, two US officials hinted that the damage could have resulted from an anchor dragged by a passing vessel. However, tracking data did not show any ships near the cut areas at the time of the incidents.
Investigating Baltic Sea cable incidents
The pattern of these disruptions aligns with previous actions attributed to Russia.
"Two undersea internet cables were severed in the span of 24 hours earlier this week – and European governments suspect a Chinese vessel is responsible… A cargo carrier, Yi Peng 3, was in the vicinity of both cables at the time that they were damaged."https://t.co/dbcWvu9vhR
— Indo-Pacific Defense FORUM (@IPDefenseForum) November 25, 2024
The country has shown increased interest in undersea cables, with its secretive marine unit, known as “GUGI” (General Staff Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research), frequently patrolling areas with critical maritime infrastructure. Rod Thornton, a defense studies senior lecturer at King’s College London, commented that these disruptions could be Moscow’s strategy to apply pressure on the West without triggering a NATO response.
The notion of hybrid warfare, involving non-military measures like cyberattacks and sabotage, has been a growing concern among European security officials. The disruptions were relatively limited, possibly intentionally so, to serve as a warning without causing widespread outages. Damage to undersea cables, while rare, generally does not lead to major blackouts thanks to the redundancy built into international telecommunications infrastructure.
As investigations continue, no party has claimed responsibility for the damage. If Russia was involved, it is unlikely to acknowledge its role, maintaining enough ambiguity to avoid direct international repercussions.
