NATO investigating damage to further undersea cable in Baltic Sea

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.

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.