Estonian-Finnish communication cable damaged, Russian ship spotted nearby
Illustrative photo (photo: freepik.com)
The prosecutors of two countries conducted a joint investigation and found that human factors were involved in the damage to the cable, according to the national broadcaster ERR .
In the investigation, two ships were identified that were in the vicinity of the rupture of the submarine cable between Estonia and Finland. The investigation has concluded that the damage to the communication cable is anthropogenic, meaning it was caused by human activity.
"During the investigation, we analyzed the movements of the ships that were in that area at the time. We have identified that one ship under the flag of the Russian Federation and another ship under the flag of Hong Kong were present in that area at the time," said the state prosecutor Triinu Olev.
The investigation will further determine how this damage was caused and whether it was intentional.
"At the moment, in the case of the communication cable between Estonia and Finland, it has been established that it is not a natural damage. Based on the evidence collected so far, there are grounds to believe that this damage was caused by human actions. However, in the course of further investigation, we need to determine whether this is deliberate damage or a result of some negligence," said Olev.
The prosecution is exploring different possibilities and examining all circumstances. The government is already prepared to commence the repair of the cable as soon as possible, with hopes that this will occur next week.
The government emphasized that communication services in Estonia have always been maximally ensured. In case of damage to the marine cables, alternative working submarine or terrestrial cables connecting to Latvia can be used. For the continuous operation of communication services, there are nine different connections: seven underwater and two terrestrial cables.
As mentioned earlier, we reported that the Balticconnector gas pipeline and the telecommunication cable connecting Finland and Estonia in the Baltic Sea were damaged during the night of October 8. In both cases, authorities suspect human influence.
