NATO officials are investigating damage discovered on Sunday to another undersea cable running across the Baltic Sea, this time a telecommunications link between NATO member states Sweden and Latvia.
The cause of the damage was still unclear, however it is believed it was made by an external party, Latvian officials announced in a press conference in Riga.
The damage comes after a string of undersea cables have been apparently targeted in recent months, triggering scrutiny of this critical infrastructure’s vulnerability.
The optical fibre cable from Latvian state broadcaster LVRTC was damaged early on Sunday in the waters between Ventspils, Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland.
LVRTC said the damage was “significant” but that most users would not be impacted. It said some customers could notice delays in data transmission speeds.
NATO announced that ships and aircraft were deployed alongside regional allies to investigate the site of the incident, located in the exclusive economic zone of Sweden.
“The presence of the allies in the region enables a swift and coordinated response,” a NATO spokesman told dpa.
Investigators of earlier suspected sabotage attacks believe Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of vessels are responsible, with the damage caused by allowing ship anchors to scrape the sea floor.
Moscow is suspected to be targeting European countries supporting Ukraine in its defence against almost three years of Russia’s war.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina called a meeting of the relevant ministries and services. Latvia is in contact with Sweden, other Baltic Sea countries and NATO to clarify the circumstances, she said.
Likewise, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Sweden, Latvia and NATO were working closely together on this matter.
The Latvian Navy analysed the movements in the area and dispatched a patrol ship to a vessel that was near the scene of the damage. No suspicious activity on board or damage to the anchor was detected, navy admiral Maris Polencs said.
The inspected ship was on its way to Russia and was waiting for clearance to continue its journey. Two other ships were identified in the approximate area of the damage to the underwater infrastructure, according to a Latvian army statement.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced on X that she wanted to discuss how to better prevent and respond to hybrid threats in light of the Russian campaign at a meeting with EU foreign ministers on Monday.
