Accidents in the Baltic Sea? According to the Washington Post broken cables in the Baltic Sea is the result of “maritime accidents, a no sabotage from Russia“. The American daily refers to the findings of “several American and European intelligence officials.”
Damaged cables: Recall that in November last year two submarine cables were damaged connecting Finland with Germany and Sweden with Finland. In December it happened destruction of the cable under the Gulf of Finlandas well as several data cables between Finland, Estonia and Germany. Finnish authorities suspect they may be involved Russian or Chinese units.
No evidence: According to the Washington Post American and European services responsible for security are increasingly inclined to the thesis that breaking the cables was not an intentional act. The daily, citing European officials, adds that “investigations conducted by the US and half a dozen European services have not yielded any evidence that merchant vessels suspected of dragging anchors on the seabed they did it on purpose or on Moscow's orders,” we read.
Inexperienced crews? Instead, U.S. and European officials said the evidence collected so far – including intercepted communications and other classified intelligence information – indicate that the accidents were caused by “inexperienced crews serving on board ships that are in poor technical condition.
Baltic Guard: Last week NATO chief Mark Rutte announced in Helsinki creation of the Baltic Guard. The Baltic states strengthen NATO in this way protection of underwater infrastructure. The Alliance suspects that damaging cables is an element Russian hybrid war. Rutte emphasized that cables are used to transmit energy and information flow, which is of great importance for the economies of NATO countries.
See also: Action by the Danish Navy. More on this topic in the text entitled “Denmark detained a Chinese ship. It could have damaged cables in the Baltic Sea”.
Sources: “Washington Post”IAR.