HELSINKI: The NATO military alliance said on Tuesday (Jan 14) it was launching a Baltic Sea monitoring mission following the suspected sabotage of undersea cables in recent months.
Several undersea telecom and power cables have been severed in the region, with experts and politicians accusing Russia of orchestrating a hybrid war against the West as the two sides square off over Ukraine.
At a meeting on Tuesday in Helsinki of NATO members on the Baltic Sea, NATO chief Mark Rutte said that the “Baltic Sentry” mission would “involve a range of assets, including frigates and maritime patrol aircraft, among others, and will enhance our vigilance in the Baltic.”
Rutte added that he would not share details on the exact number of vessels “because that might differ from one week to another” and that he did not wish to make “the enemy any wiser than he or she is already.”
A statement from NATO specified that the operation would “continue for an undisclosed amount of time”.
The sabotage has been blamed on a “shadow fleet” of vessels – often ageing and operating under opaque ownership – that carry Russian crude oil and petroleum products, embargoed since the invasion of Ukraine.
“Investigations of all of these cases are still ongoing, but there is reason for grave concern. Safeguarding our infrastructure is of utmost importance,” Rutte said.
“Not only is this crucial for energy supply that is from power cables or pipelines, but more than 95 percent of internet traffic is secured via undersea cables, and 1.3 millionkm of cables guarantee an estimated 10 trillion-dollar worth of financial transactions every day,” Rutte noted.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters as he arrived for the meeting that it was “totally unacceptable that these damages seem to have been increasing in numbers recently” but expressed caution in apportioning blame.
“We don’t accuse anybody for anything so far. We don’t do that easily without very firm proof,” Kristersson said.
