New reports indicate that additional undersea cable lines were severed in the Baltic Sea. The reports come on the heels of alleged sabotage of different cables in November 2024.
Finnish authorities said they are investigating more telecommunication line disruptions with a Russian “shadow fleet” reportedly facing a probe related to the Christmas Day outages.
Finland’s prime minister announced on Wednesday, Dec. 25, a “disruption” in the Estlink-2 cable and said the country is looking into the incident.
Officials noted, the disruption would not impact “electricity supplies in Finland” and there is also enough capacity to meet electricity needs in Estonia.
In a separate incident on Wednesday, Finnish telecommunication officials say that they are investigating the disruptions of two submarine cables between Finland and Estonia.
Currently, investigators are unsure what caused the outages and are still trying to determine where the cable lines were disrupted, although Estonian authorities say they believe the disruption is on the Finnish side.
As Straight Arrow News previously reported, European nations have been on high alert ever since two critical communication cables were severed in the Baltic Sea in November 2024.
European officials called it an act of “sabotage” and implicated Russia in the incident.
Danish authorities later detained a Chinese vessel that they say dragged an anchor more than 100 miles as it left a Russian port.
The Chinese ship is believed to be responsible for cutting cables linking Germany and Lithuania and severing another set of cables connecting Germany and Finland.
Investigators are probing whether the crew worked with Russia in what Western countries consider “hybrid warfare.”
European officials said that China is not suspected of the sabotage but are investigating whether Russia worked with the crew.
Western allies are also upping security in the region as NATO is expected to deploy new technology to protect underwater cables next year.
The international alliance announced earlier this month that it will launch sea drones in summer 2025 to monitor global cables in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas.
US precision strike in Syria: 2 ISIS operatives killed, weapons destroyed
The U.S. military conducted a precision airstrike in Syria’s Dayr az Zawr Province on Monday, Dec. 23, killing two ISIS operatives and wounding a third. The operation also destroyed a truckload of weapons the group was transporting. The strike occurred in an area previously under the control of Syrian and Russian forces.
This airstrike is part of an ongoing U.S. effort to disrupt ISIS operations and prevent the terror group from regaining strength. It follows a series of recent strikes in the same region, including one last week that killed ISIS leader Abu Yusif and another operative. In total, U.S. forces report eliminating 12 ISIS operatives in Syria over the past week.
CENTCOM Commander General Michael Erik Kurilla underscored the importance of these actions, particularly as ISIS attempts to reorganize and free more than 8,000 of its members currently held in detention facilities. He emphasized that the U.S., in coordination with regional allies, remains committed to preventing ISIS from regaining strength or planning future attacks.
These operations are part of Operation Inherent Resolve, a coalition campaign against ISIS that began in 2014. According to Airwars.org, the coalition has conducted approximately 35,000 airstrikes across Iraq and Syria over the past decade, nearly 20,000 of which targeted ISIS positions and infrastructure in Syria.
While these efforts have significantly weakened ISIS and led to the loss of nearly all its territorial control, U.S. officials warn that the group remains a persistent threat.
Explosion sinks sanctioned Russian cargo ship off Spain’s coast
A Russian cargo ship tied to the country’s Defense Ministry sank in the Mediterranean Sea following an explosion in its engine room, leaving two crew members missing. The ship, named the Ursa Major, was reportedly on its way to Vladivostok, carrying two large port cranes and empty containers, according to the crew. The incident occurred about 57 miles off the coast of Spain.
Spanish rescue crews initially responded to the distress signal, rescuing 14 crew members and bringing them to safety in Cartagena. However, a Russian warship later arrived at the scene to take over operations. Video footage released on social media shows the vessel heavily listing before sinking.
The Ursa Major is operated by a company under U.S. sanctions for its ties to Russia’s military. Ukrainian intelligence has raised suspicions about the ship’s activities, claiming it may have been transporting military equipment from Russian bases in Syria following the collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime.
These allegations, if true, could point to efforts by Russia to withdraw military assets from the region. Moscow has not yet commented on whether it will withdraw from Syria.
In a related development, another Russian vessel, the Sparta, reportedly broke down near Portugal. Ukrainian officials say it was en route to Syria to collect additional military equipment. The crew repaired the issue, and the ship has since resumed its journey.
The incidents come on the heels of another maritime loss for Russia — its third oil tanker sank in the Black Sea less than a week ago. Together, these events are drawing attention to Russia’s maritime activities, and raising questions about its ability to maintain a military presence beyond its borders.
Top Russian, US generals discuss Mediterranean drills in rare call
Russia’s top military officer called his U.S. counterpart last week to warn of live-fire missile tests in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The advance notice was given to U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown amid heightened tensions between the United States and Russia. Russia’s Defense Ministry stated that the call aimed to prevent incidents in the region.
Russia’s Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov informed Brown about the naval drills, which included hypersonic Zircon missiles and Kalibr cruise missiles launched from frigates and submarines. The exercises also involved Onyx missiles fired from coastal systems, according to the ministry.
The drills were conducted near U.S. Navy ships, including destroyers providing missile defense for Israel and amphibious ships carrying more than 2,000 Marines. Hypersonic missiles like Russia’s Zircon are of particular concern due to their speed and maneuverability, making them more challenging to defend against.
This was the first conversation between the two military leaders since Brown became Joint Chiefs chairman in October 2023. The Pentagon confirmed the two generals discussed global security issues, including the conflict in Ukraine, though Gerasimov did not provide specifics on the weapons used during the drills.
The communication occurred during a period of escalating U.S.-Russia tensions. The United States has allowed Ukraine to use long-range ATACMS missiles against Russian targets, while Russia has conducted intermediate-range ballistic missile strikes in Ukraine. Reports also suggest thousands of North Korean troops are now on the battlefield in support of Russia.
Russia’s naval exercises reportedly involved more than 1,000 personnel, 10 ships and 24 aircraft, including MiG-31 fighter jets. The drills were described by the Russian Defense Ministry as being in compliance with international protocols and agreements.
Biden authorized humanitarian aid pier in Gaza despite warnings: Report
President Joe Biden ordered a temporary pier be constructed to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza earlier this year – even though experts said it wasn’t a good idea, according to a government watchdog. Staffers warned the president that the pier would face significant challenges.
A new report from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said warnings over weather in the Mediterranean Sea and security challenges were raised, due to it being in an active war zone.
USAID officials also say they voiced concerns that focusing on the pier would distract from the larger effort to reopen land crossings into Gaza. The crossings were seen as a more efficient and well-established way of moving large quantities of humanitarian supplies.
Even when the pier was operating, crowded roads and land routes that constantly changed made it difficult to operate effectively. According to the report, the World Food Programme (WFP) and USAID staff cited “multiple instances” of aid convoys being looted, attacks on WFP warehouses, and drivers being detained or shot. The WFP oversaw distribution of aid once it was delivered to the beach in Gaza.
Planned distribution routes could also become evacuation zones “within a matter of hours” based on Israeli military operations, the report said, forcing officials to change transportation plans.
In response to the new USAID report, a Pentagon spokesperson said the pier “achieved its goal of providing an additive means of delivering high volumes of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.”
Search continues for British tech mogul after yacht capsizes in Sicily
Divers continued their search on Tuesday, Aug. 20, for six missing people after a storm sank the luxury yacht Bayesian off Sicily’s coast. Among those missing are British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter, and several prominent figures, including a Morgan Stanley executive and a Clifford Chance lawyer. The yacht, anchored near Porticello, capsized on Monday, leaving 15 survivors and one body recovered.
The Bayesian, a 184-foot British-flagged superyacht, was carrying 22 people when it was struck by the intense weather. Divers, facing challenging conditions at a depth of 160 feet, are meticulously searching the wreck for any signs of the missing passengers.
Concerns have grown that the bodies may be trapped inside the vessel.
Fire department diver Marco Tilotta noted that the depth of the wreck poses significant challenges for extended underwater searches. He emphasized the team’s detailed approach, saying, “We plan to search centimeter by centimeter.”
The missing passengers include Lynch, who is widely known as one of the U.K.’s top tech entrepreneurs, his daughter, Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley International, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, and their wives.
Lynch is known for founding Autonomy, the U.K.’s largest software firm. Lynch sold Autonomy to HP for $11 billion in 2011, but the deal led to a fraud accusation and a lengthy trial.
In June, Lynch was acquitted by a San Francisco jury. Morvillo represented Lynch during the trial, and Bloomer had testified as a character witness on his behalf.
Lynch’s co-defendant in the trial, Stephen Chamberlain, died in a car accident in Britain on Aug. 17, according to his lawyer.
The Bayesian incident follows weeks of extreme weather in Italy. Storms and heavy rainfall have impacted the region, with unusually warm sea temperatures around Sicily, nearly 86 F, contributing to the severe conditions.
The British government’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch has dispatched inspectors to conduct a preliminary assessment of the incident. Investigators will focus on whether the yacht’s crew had taken appropriate safety measures ahead of the storm, including closing access hatches.
BBC investigation ties Greek coast guard to dozens of migrant deaths at sea
A new BBC report and documentary leveled allegations against Greek authorities in the Mediterranean. The report, released on Monday, June 17, documented allegations ranging from masked men abducting and throwing migrants into the sea, to Greek authorities forcing asylum-seekers and their children into open waters on ill-fated rafts, according to first-hand witness accounts.
In total, the report outlined 43 deaths attributed to the Greek authorities. It accused Greek authorities of killing people through negligence and murder.
The film appears to allege negligence during rescue operations on the capsized ship with hundreds of migrants. More than 600 migrants drowned. First-hand accounts and court documents stated the vessel may have sunk after Greek special forces attempted to tow it outside of Greek waters.
Some asylum-seekers hold the traffickers who organized the ill-fated trip responsible but maintain Greek involvement in capsizing the vessel and abandoning the migrants at sea. Greek authorities disputed the accounts but also said that cameras on their ship were not working during the operation.
The allegations appear to be symbolic of a larger issue within Greek authorities’ handling of migrants. Human rights groups have long accused Greece of forcing thousands of refugees out, despite asylum rights being written into international and European Union law.
In another incident outlined in the BBC report, a Syrian refugee said that people on his boat called for help from the Greek coast guard after it stalled. He said the coast guard put him and others on a raft with a leaking valve.
The raft eventually sank and killed eight children, including the refugee’s. He said they cried out for help from Greek authorities but were ignored. The ship carried 85 people and the Turkish coast guard did not come to the migrants’ rescue until the next morning.
In a separate event, a BBC reporter showed a former Greek coast guard senior officer a video of a dozen people, including small children, being loaded onto a boat and then forced onto a small raft, only to be abandoned at sea. The former officer’s reaction was denial, but as the camera rolled during a break, he called his supervisor. While speaking in Greek, he called the actions in the video “obviously illegal” and “an international crime,” even questioning why they would do it in “broad daylight.”
Greece’s main opposition party is demanding an investigation following the report. The party’s immigration policy chief said that they have called for accountability from the coast guard for years.
A government spokesperson for Greece called the BBC’s claims unproven but said that every complaint would be reviewed, adding that the coast guard “saves dozens of human lives every day,” and it is “wrong to target them.”
With Gaza wrapping up, Israel prepares for fight with Hezbollah
Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza could be wrapped up in a matter of weeks. The Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) campaign against Hezbollah, however, may just be getting started.
Whenever people talk about conflict or wars in the Middle East, it’s always hard to boil down thousands of years of history into a news story. So, let’s just focus on some of the more recent events which have led to this moment.
On Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas terrorists swarmed southern Israel, killing hundreds and kidnapping dozens, Hezbollah increased its daily barrage of rocket, missile and mortar strikes on northern Israel. Hezbollah stated this was a signal of solidarity with Hamas, its fellow Iranian-backed allies.
Thousands of people were evacuated from northern Israel due to these strikes, forced out of their homes for months. Hezbollah’s attacks also ignited wildfires, scorching fields and homes. Israel typically responds with targeted strikes against Hezbollah’s weapons caches, command posts and, when known, Hezbollah’s leadership.
“This is a dynamic that could ultimately result in a massive burst spinning out of control,” said Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence officer and negotiator during the First and Second Intifadas.
Now a political adviser and author, Melamed noted that neither Israel nor Hezbollah wants an all-out war, but both sides are bracing for that outcome.
“The dynamic of this endless, never-ceasing, skirmish of punches almost every day since Oct. 8 — that all has its own dynamic, resulting in more and more escalation,” Melamed said. “There has been, clearly, red lines that both sides were very cautious, cautious and careful not to cross. But then on the other hand, you may find, for different reasons, you find yourself dragged into a whirlpool of dynamics that basically could result in a slippery-slope towards spinning out of control. A process that could result, at the end of the day, in all-out war.”
Melamed described Hezbollah as Iran’s favorite terrorist proxy, receiving hundreds of millions of dollars annually in financial and military support. This support has enabled Hezbollah to oust Lebanon’s internationally recognized government, turning the country into a failed state.
“The Lebanese themselves are saying openly, ‘We are kidnapped by Hezbollah and we are powerless to change the situation,’” Melamed said.
He explained that Iran needs a strong proxy in Lebanon for two main reasons. First, so Iran can tighten its grip on the country, securing a foothold along the Mediterranean coast and a staging ground to launch attacks against Israel.
“The other objective of Hezbollah is to be a counterpart of deterrence against any attempt of Israel, or the West, to attack Iran’s strategic interests,” Melamed added.
Hezbollah, Hamas and other Iranian proxies form the so-called Axis of Resistance. Melamed emphasized that this Axis is committed to the destruction of Israel, willing to put innocent people in harm’s way to achieve their goal.
“In the Western thought, you are not going to eliminate somebody else,” Melamed said. “You may have a dispute, but you don’t vow to eliminate somebody else. In the Western mindset the government’s role, first and foremost, is to take care of the well-being of its people. Not to sacrifice these people to the agenda, on the altar of whatever the agenda is. These are two things that the Western mind failed to understand. Because it’s totally alien to the mindset of the West. But it has to be said. It has to be understood,”
As of publication, both Israel and Hezbollah appear poised to engage in a major conflict, the scale of which hasn’t been seen in southern Lebanon since the 2006 Israeli invasion. Melamed warned that Iran and its Axis of Resistance are patient, committed, well-funded and increasingly well-armed. To defeat Iran and its Axis, he said, their notion of “resistance” must be defeated as well.
“They are not going to compromise their ideology and understanding that they are working according to a long-term master plan,” Melamed said. “That master plan keeps, all the time, their eye on the target. It may have some diversions. It may have some slow-downs, but they have their eyes fixed on the target. Those who want to prevent this path, need to be willing to act proactively, decisively to totally change that path. Now, there are potentially two ways to do it. One is a non-violent way and the other one is violent. The non-violent way is not working.”
EU funding tied to efforts to drop migrants in African desert: Report
Sub-Saharan and other African migrants traveling to Europe face dire consequences when they leave the North African coast. Many who try to make it to the European Union (EU) are being picked up before they make land and dropped off in the desert. According to a new report, EU nations are funding these roundups of migrants.
The most common route for African migrants trying to make it to Europe is through Italy, with many arriving on the island of Lampedusa. However, the journey is perilous as boats often capsize. More recently, migrants are being picked up by the Tunisian coast guard and transported to the African desert at Tunisia’s borders with Libya and Algeria. There, the migrants are left to their own devices to survive.
Migrants who arrived in Tunisia said that food, water and work are particularly nonexistent.
“There is no work here,” one migrant who spoke to The Associated Press said. “It’s not easy to find anything to eat. Life is expensive here. Things are very difficult here and you can’t buy water or shampoo or wash properly. All we want is for them to let us go, we will leave.”
Migrants want the Tunisian government to allow them passage to Europe. However, The Washington Post and several other international outlets reported that the EU and individual European nations are financing Northern African countries’ efforts to stop the flow of migration.
The investigation shows that African nations are intercepting boats of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, bringing them back to Africa and then dropping them off hundreds of miles inland in the middle of the desert. The placement exposes them to kidnapping, extortion, torture, sexual violence and death, according to the yearlong joint investigation.
Activists seeking better rights and humanitarian aid for the migrants hold the EU directly responsible.
In June 2023, the European Commission brokered a deal with the Tunisian government, promising just over 1 billion euros for the African nation to help stabilize its economy and stem the flow of migrants leaving the Tunisian coast for Europe.
According to the AP, the Tunisian coast guard’s efforts are working, as they have prevented more than 21,000 migration attempts by land or sea this year.
The U.S. is mourning the loss of five Army Special Operation troops who were killed in a helicopter crash in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea over the weekend. According to the U.S. European Command, the five soldiers were killed when their MH-60 helicopter went down “during a routine air refueling mission as part of military training.”
The Pentagon announced that the cause of the crash late Friday, Nov. 10, is under investigation, but there is no indication that it was the result of “hostile activity.” Search and rescue teams were dispatched and worked into Saturday, Nov. 11, before being called off.
The Special Operations crew was in the area to assist if needed with American evacuations amid the Israel-Hamas war, according to officials familiar with the situation.
“They [service members] willingly take risks to keep the American people safe and secure. And their daily bravery and selflessness is an enduring testament to what is best in our nation,” Biden said. “Jill and I are praying for the families and friends who have lost a precious loved one—a piece of their soul. Our entire nation shares their grief.”
The Pentagon released the names of the five service members on Monday, Nov. 13:
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen R. Dwyer, 38 of Clarksville, Tennessee
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane M. Barnes, 34, of Sacramento, California
Staff Sgt. Tanner W. Grone, 26, of Gorham, New Hampshire
Sgt. Andrew P. Southard, 27, of Apache Junction, Arizona
Sgt. Cade M. Wolfe, 24, of Mankato, Minnesota.
“While we continue to gather more information about this deadly crash, it is another stark reminder that the brave men and women who defend our great nation put their lives on the line each and every day to keep our country safe,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.