NATO launched the “Baltic Sentinel” mission to protect submarine cables

Tensions between NATO countries and Russia have been rising relentlessly since Russia’s large-scale intervention in Ukraine in February 2022.

“There is cause for serious concern” about infrastructure damage, Rutte said. He added that NATO would respond more forcefully to such accidents, boarding more suspect vessels and seizing them if necessary.

He declined to elaborate on the number of assets that would be involved in the Baltic Sentinels initiative, saying it could change regularly and that he did not want to “make the enemy smarter than he already is.”

The undersea infrastructure is important not only for the supply of electricity, but also because more than 95% of internet traffic is carried through submarine cables, Rutte added, adding that “1.3 million kilometers (800,000 miles) of cables guarantee about $10 trillion in funding. operations every day”.

In a post on X, he said NATO would “do whatever it takes to ensure the safety and security of our critical infrastructure and everything we hold dear.”

In recent months, there has been an increase in unexplained damage to the undersea infrastructure of the Baltic countries.

We saw the latest accident in the undersea infrastructure The electricity cable between Finland and Estonia will be cut at the end of December.

A Finnish coast guard crew boarded the Cook Islands-flagged Eagle S oil tanker and steered it into Finnish waters, while Estonia deployed a patrol vessel to protect the undersea power cable.

Risto Lohi of Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation told Reuters on Monday that the Eagle S had threatened to cut a second power cable and gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia when it was seized.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said in December that damage to underwater infrastructure was “so frequent” that it cast doubt on the idea that the damage could be considered “accidental” or “just poor seamanship”.

Tsahkna did not directly accuse Russia. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also said on Sunday that Sweden was “not naive” to not jump to conclusions or “accuse someone of provocation without very strong reasons”.

“The security situation and the periodic occurrence of strange events in the Baltic Sea make us believe that the intention of the enemy cannot be ruled out.”

“There is very little evidence that a ship could accidentally and unknowingly … do damage without realizing it,” he said.