NATO sends dozen ships to protect underwater infrastructure in Baltic Sea
Illustrative photo: NATO sends a dozen ships to the Baltic Sea to protect underwater infrastructure (encyclopedia.mil.ru)
NATO will begin a large-scale operation to protect critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea at the end of this week. The alliance is sending up to ten ships for the mission, Yle reports.
According to the news agency, NATO will deploy ships currently serving in the Baltic Sea, as well as vessels directly sent by NATO countries. In total, there will be around ten ships, and they will remain at sea until April.
The ships will be positioned near energy cables and data transmission cables. Primarily, they will serve as a deterrent. NATO cannot, for example, block the passage of ships from other countries in international waters, as stated in the report.
Additionally, the Gulf of Finland will continue to be patrolled, including by Finnish and Estonian ships.
The decision to increase NATO’s presence in the Baltic Sea was made on December 30 at the request of Finland and Estonia.
Damage to underwater cables in the Baltic Sea
Recently, it became known about the damage to the Estlink 2 underwater power cable, which connects Finland and Estonia. Finland does not rule out the possibility of deliberate damage to the underwater power line in the Gulf of Finland. Two ships were observed in the area.
Earlier, it was reported that on November 18, the C-Lion1 underwater data cable, which runs through the Baltic Sea between Finland and Germany, was severed.
On the same day, another damaged underwater communication cable was found in the Baltic Sea, between Lithuania and Sweden.
