Baltic tensions rise as sabotage threats loom over cables
Sweden has discovered damage to another Baltic Sea cable. This time, the issue concerns the Nordbalt cable, which connects Sweden with Lithuania. According to the Swedish Minister of Defence, the destruction was caused by an anchor dragging along the sea floor.
Swedish Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin reported to SVT that traces of damage caused by a dragged anchor were discovered on the Nordbalt cable connecting Sweden with Lithuania.
According to the minister, these damages were likely caused by the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3. The same ship damaged cables between Sweden and Lithuania, Germany, and Finland over a section of approximately 160 kilometres while dragging an anchor on November 17-18. Investigators looking into the incident suspect that this action was deliberate and that Russian intelligence services recruited the ship's captain.
Deliberate sabotage actions?
On December 25 at Eastern Time, the tanker Eagle S, belonging to the Russian shadow fleet, damaged one of the cables on the Baltic Sea floor between Estonia and Finland. Carl-Oskar Bohlin emphasized that all these incidents might be related to the planned disconnection of the Baltic countries from the energy grid of Belarus and Russia (BRELL) in February.
- What the Swedish media is reporting shows that we really cannot believe in coincidences regarding what is happening in the Baltic Sea. We must take these cases of sabotage or attempts to sabotage that infrastructure very seriously. And this shows that a quick NATO reaction is necessary in order to protect the interests of our consumers and our, in essence, entire infrastructure, both the electricity market and price stability - commented on the incident for LRT RADIO Lithuanian Deputy Minister of Energy Arnoldas Pikžirnis.
Swedish Prime Minister on "state of war"
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson highlighted the hybrid attacks, suspected sabotage in the Baltic, and the war waged by third parties on its territory. On Sunday, he stated that his country is not in a state of war but also not living in peacetime.
The Prime Minister also emphasized that this is Sweden's first time allocating resources for NATO forces. He noted that Sweden has the longest Baltic Sea coastline compared to other countries therefore it takes on the greatest responsibility for its security.
