The European Union's new head of digital technologies, Hanna Virkkunen, believes that repeated damage to submarine cables in the Baltic Sea cannot be accidental. This topic will be discussed at the NATO summit. This was reported by UNN with reference to Bloomberg.
Details
Virkkunen said in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, "It can't be a coincidence if these cases happen many times a year.
She also said that on Tuesday, EU and North Atlantic Treaty Organization officials will gather in Helsinki, along with leaders of countries with coastlines along the Baltic Sea, to discuss "how we can better prevent, detect and respond to such incidents." The summit is co-hosted by Finland and Estonia.
Over the past 15 months, there have been three incidents of damage to underwater power lines, data cables and a gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea.
In response to suspected sabotage of submarine cables between Finland and Estonia, NATO is expanding its surveillance operations in the Baltic Sea region by sending two ships. Estonia has already sent a warship to patrol another power line.
Speaking to the European Parliament on Monday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that more can be done to combat hybrid threats, the latest example of which is cable cuts. He also added that allied leaders will take further steps. "We must be more resilient to such hostile actions," he said.
Finnish authorities are investigating an oil tanker belonging to Russia's "shadow fleet" for having cut an electrical cable between Finland and Estonia.
Previously
It was reported that damage to another power cable with anchor marks was found in the Baltic Sea. The Swedish Defense Minister confirmed that this is the third damaged cable after the incident with the Yi Peng 3.
Recall
In December, the EU adopted its 15th package of sanctions, this time targeting the shadowy fleet of tankers that Russia uses to bring its oil to market, to limit Moscow's ability to circumvent existing restrictive measures.