United States allies reportedly believe that sabotage may be to blame for the loss of two underwater communication lines in the Baltic Sea. While it’s unclear who is behind the rupture, suspicions are reportedly being raised toward Russia as its war in Ukraine reached its 1,000th day on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday, “No one believes that these cables were cut accidentally.”
An incident on Monday, Nov. 18, ruptured a 730-mile cable linking communications between Germany and Finland.
Pistorius believes it came from a “hybrid” action “and we have to assume, without knowing yet, that it is sabotage.”
The telecommunications wires running between Germany and Finland are reportedly the only direct connection of their kind between Finland and central Europe.
Finnish officials say the repairs could take up to 15 days to complete.
In a separate incident on Sunday, Nov. 17, communication cables in the Baltic Sea connecting Sweden and Lithuania were severed. Lithuania’s Navy said on Tuesday that it was monitoring that area of the Baltic Sea in the wake of the disruption.
The loss of these critical communication lines come as governments in northern Europe fear Russian attacks beyond its war in Ukraine. People in Sweden, Norway and Finland have reportedly been given advice by government agencies on how to deal with potential war and other crises.
Meanwhile, Russia has repeatedly denied past accusations from the West that it’s behind a sabotage operation across Europe.
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