Germany and Finland 'deeply concerned' after submarine cable linking the two countries breaks

Berlin and Helsinki evoke “hybrid war” and the Russian threat. An investigation is underway.

It is called C-Lion1. The German and Finnish governments said on Monday, November 18, “deeply concerned” by the rupture of an underwater telecommunications cable linking their two countries, and discussed the “hybrid warfare” and the Russian threat. “A thorough investigation is underway, our European security is not only threatened by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine but also by hybrid wars waged by malicious actors”wrote the foreign ministers of the two countries in a joint statement transmitted by Berlin.

This 1,172 kilometer submarine cable has linked Helsinki to Rostock, a Baltic Sea port in northeastern Germany, since 2016. Its operator, the Finnish technology group Cinia, announced that a “default” had been detected on Monday, leading to the cutting of all fiber connections on this cable. “This type of rupture does not occur in these waters without external impact”added the publicly owned group.

European countries are increasingly using the term “hybrid warfare” to describe the actions aimed at harming them carried out by Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Faced with the increase in these attacks, former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö called for the establishment of a cooperation service in matters intelligence within the European Union, in a report submitted to the Commission at the end of October.

In October 2023, an underwater gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia had to be closed after damage caused by an anchor from a Chinese cargo ship. Monday's incident is also reminiscent of the sabotage in September 2022 of the Russian Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, which has not yet been clarified.