A data cable across Baltic Sea between Finland and Germany has broken and the cause is unknown

Mystery fault takes undersea internet cable between Germany and Finland out of service

Guardian

Telecoms cable in Baltic Sea may have been severed, says Finnish owner

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorious has claimed that damage to two undersea data cables since Sunday were "hybrid action[s]" that "no believes... were cut accidentally," describing the act as "sabotage."

Dw.Com

The first cable to go down — a 135-mile (218 km) internet link between Lithuania and the Swedish island of Gotland — went offline at roughly 0800 GMT on Sunday, according to a Lithuanian subsidiary of Sweden's Telia Company.

The Times

The second cable — a 745-mile (1,200 km) line between Finland's capital of Helsinki to the German port city of Rostock — was disrupted around 0200 GMT on Monday, the Finnish state-controlled cyber security and telecoms company Cinia said.

Reuters

Politico

The foreign ministers of Germany and Finland also issued a joint statement in which they said they were "deeply concerned," and that investigations were underway.

German Federal Foreign Office

The statement did not directly blame Russia but stated that "Russia's war of aggression" as well as "hybrid warfare by malicious actors" were a threat to European security.

EuroNews

This comes after Nord Stream pipelines transporting gas between Russia and Europe in the Baltic Sea were damaged after explosions in 2022. Both Russia and Ukraine have accused one another of sabotaging the pipelines.

Verity

ap #1

CNN #1

Guardian #1

Communication across two fiber optic cables running across the Baltic Sea were disrupted this past week, sparking fears they were intentionally severed by acts of sabotage.

Guardian #1398

Reuters #

"We can confirm that the internet traffic disruption was not caused by equipment failure but by physical damage to the fiber optic cable," a spokesperson for the firm said.

CNN #

Later in the day, the foreign ministers of Germany and Finland issued a joint statement in which they said they were "deeply concerned" and that investigations were underway.

German Federal Foreign Office #

The statement did not directly blame Russia, but appeared to link it to the incident, stating that "Russia's war of aggression" as well as "hybrid warfare by malicious actors" were a threat to European security.

It follows multiple reports earlier this year — first in a joint investigation by the public broadcasters of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, then by CNN — that cited research and intelligence sources in stating that Russia has developed a dedicated military unit that's capable of carrying out such acts of sabotage on communications infrastructure.

While the severing of these telecommunications cables was not directly blamed on Russia, that conclusion cannot be ruled out given the recent reports that show Russia has developed the capabilities to carry out such acts of sabotage.

Two undersea cables in Baltic Sea disrupted, sparking warnings of possible ‘hybrid warfare’

Western officials have a funny way of leaking certain stories to the press before similar actions involving those specified take place. This can be interpreted as a way of sowing the seeds of who to blame in the public's minds while covering the officials' tracks.

There's a 1% chance that a NATO member’s investigation will conclude that the US was involved in the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline before 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Metaculus2

US involvement in Nord Stream explosion

Stephen Sauer/Picture Alliance/Contributor via Getty Images

Sabotage Fears After Two Undersea Cables Severed in Baltic Sea

Germany

Finland

Russia

Sweden

Norway

Reports from last year showed the presence of Russian spy ships in Nordic waters, the US has noted increased Russian activity by undersea cables in recent weeks, while only days ago a Russian vessel had to be removed from Irish waters. With tension between Russia and Europe at a historic high, it does not take much to assume this was Putin's doing.

Mobile Europe

Two Baltic Sea cables disrupted – is this ‘hybrid warfare’?

The Sun

Fears grow of Russian sabotage as ANOTHER deep sea comms cable is mysteriously cut amid warnings of ‘hybrid warfare’

The news of these incidents comes only days since Russia warned the US and the UK were considering infrastructure attacks similar to what saw seen previously with Nord Stream 1 and 2. Luckily, it has been announced that the cables will be repaired in a matter of weeks.

Germany Alleges Sabotage as Two Undersea Cables Severed in Baltic Sea

Germany Alleges Sabotage Fearsas After Two Undersea Cables Severed in Baltic Sea

The Spin

Metaculus Prediction

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