Sabotage at sea: Baltic cable disruption sparks investigation
Over the weekend, an undersea telecommunication cable lying at the bottom of the Baltic Sea was damaged. "If it is mechanical or physical damage, it is most likely intentional," commented the head of the Lithuanian National Crisis Management Centre.
In the past two days, there have been two failures of undersea telecommunication cables connecting Finland with Germany and Lithuania with Sweden. The causes of these malfunctions remain unknown.
On Tuesday, 19th November, the German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius described the damage to the cable at the bottom of the Baltic Sea as an act of sabotage. The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation has commenced an investigation into the matter.
"We do not yet have enough information to determine exactly what happened," stated Vilmantas Vitkauskas, the head of the Lithuanian National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC).
He added that "if it is mechanical or physical damage, it is most likely intentional or unintentional negligence." He also stressed that, at present, no possibility can be ruled out.
"It is always necessary to begin with the most complex and dangerous possibilities - sabotage or diversion," emphasised the head of the NKVC.
Failures or sabotage?
On Sunday, 17th November, there was damage to an undersea telecommunication cable situated at the bottom of the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and Sweden, as reported by the Telia company on Monday.
On the same day, the Finnish company Cinia announced the disruption of a similar cable connecting Helsinki with Rostock, Germany.
"Therefore, without knowing its exact origin, we must conclude that it is a 'hybrid' action. And we must also assume, even without complete evidence, that it is an act of sabotage," stressed Boris Pistorius.
