The United States has detected increased Russian military activity near key undersea cables, CNN reported Friday. The U.S. believes Moscow may now be more willing to sabotage a key piece of global communications infrastructure, according to two unnamed officials.
According to one of the American officials interviewed by the American broadcaster's website, Russia is expanding a military unit known as GUGI, which deploys submarines, surface ships and naval drones. “We are concerned about the increased activity of the Russian Navy around the world and that Russia's calculations regarding damage to U.S. and allied critical underwater infrastructure may change,” the official told CNN. He argued that “Russia continues to develop submarine sabotage capabilities.”
What would an attack on communications infrastructure mean?
The official said the U.S. regularly monitors Russian ships patrolling critical maritime infrastructure and undersea cables, often far from Russian shores. However, the U.S. has not raised concerns about the Russian GUGI unit’s covert underwater operations.
Undersea cables are a key backbone for internet and telecommunications traffic worldwide. Most communications and internet traffic travels through a vast network of high-speed fiber optic cables installed along the ocean floor.
A coordinated attack could significantly disrupt private, government and military communications using these cables, as well as industries for which they are essential, such as financial markets. The submarine cables also carry vast amounts of electricity between different European countries, CNN said.
In April 2023, the commander of the patrol vessel NATO told CNN that he had seen an increase in Russian activity in the area of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea in recent years. Last year, a joint investigation by public broadcasters Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland revealed that Russia has a fleet of suspected spy vessels operating in northern European waters to potentially sabotage both undersea cables and wind farms. Using data analysis, intercepted radio communications and intelligence sources, broadcasters tracked about 50 vessels operating in the area for several years, using underwater surveillance to map potential attack sites.
Taiwanese and US forces have observed similar Chinese naval activity in waters around Taiwan. Russia's dangerous activity has not been interrupted by the ongoing war with Ukraine.
Possible damage “could lead to unintended escalation”
The Russian leadership attaches great importance to GUGI, a US official told CNN. He noted that despite wars in Ukraine the financing of the unit was not abandoned. He also reported that United States will treat any sabotage of undersea infrastructure as a significant escalation of Russian aggression outside Ukraine.
“Any action that would damage seabed infrastructure, including submarine cables, especially during periods of heightened tensions, carries the risk of misunderstanding and miscommunication that could lead to unintended escalation,” the US official noted.
“The United States would be particularly concerned about damage to critical undersea infrastructure owned by us or our allies,” he added.
Main image source: Sergey Mihailicenko/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images