Cable damage in the Baltic Sea
Sweden is taking part in the NATO mission with three ships
After the mysterious damage to pipelines in the Baltic Sea, NATO warships are to monitor the region more closely. The youngest member, Sweden, is there.
The new NATO member Sweden will take part in a military alliance operation in the Baltic Sea with three warships to protect underwater cables. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said this at a conference on defense. A surveillance aircraft will also be involved in the operation.
The background is the cable breaks in the Baltic Sea, which are suspected to be due to sabotage, and are believed to be caused by a ship from the so-called Russian shadow fleet. According to information from the German Press Agency, a total of around ten ships will take part in the operation to protect the cables. There was initially no official information from the alliance headquarters in Brussels.
Strange occurrences in the Baltic Sea
Kristersson held back from assigning specific blame, as the Swedish news agency TT reported. However, one is not naive, emphasized the liberal-conservative politician.
The fact that strange things kept happening in the Baltic Sea led to the assumption that hostile intentions could not be ruled out, Kristersson said. Sweden and its neighbors would no longer tolerate this.
An undersea power cable running between Finland and Estonia and several communication cables were damaged in the Gulf of Finland at Christmas.
“Eagle S” probably belongs to the shadow fleet
The Finnish criminal police suspect that the Cook Islands-flagged oil tanker “Eagle S” intentionally caused the damage. She is therefore investigating possible sabotage. According to the EU’s assessment, the “Eagle S” belongs to the Russian shadow fleet. This refers to tankers and other cargo ships that Russia uses to avoid sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine, for example when transporting oil.
In mid-November 2024, submarine cables in the Baltic Sea had already been damaged: one between Finland and Germany and the other between Sweden and Lithuania.
dpa
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
