The Swedish Prime Minister announced that an incident had occurred in the Baltic Sea.
According to him, at least one underwater cable connecting his country to Latvia would have been damaged.
This is not the first time that an event of this type has occurred in this border area in Russia and marked by a revival of tensions.
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New disorders in the Baltic Sea. This Sunday, January 26, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf KrisSson said that at least one fiber optic fiber cable, connecting her country to Latvia, had been damaged. “This cable belongs to a Latvian entity. I was in close contact with Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, throughout the day”he said on X.
An identified “suspicious vessel”
Early Sunday morning, an optical fiber cable belonging to the National Radio and TV center in Latvia (LVRTC) connecting the Swedish island of Gotland to the Latvian city of Ventspils, was damaged. A few hours later, the Swedish prosecutor’s office announced that it had opened an investigation for “aggravated sabotage” and entered a suspected ship. “Several authorities, including the national unity of police operations, coast guards and the armed forces, participate in the investigation”said the prosecutor in charge of the Mats Ljungqvist case, without giving more details.
Of the “Disruptions in data transmission services” took place, said the national radio and television center in Latvia, adding that replacement solutions had been found and that end users would not be affected. “Based on current findings, we assume that the cable has been considerably damaged by external factors”said LVRTC in a statement earlier during the day. Damage took place in Swedish territorial waters at a depth of at least 50 meters.
Riga has in the wake deployed a warship at the place of damage, specifying that it has identified a “Suspect ship”Michalis San, as well as two other ships, in the area. Michalis San was on the way to Russia, according to sea follow -up sites. “We have a warship that patrols the Baltic Sea permanently, day and night, and which allowed us to deploy quickly as soon as we know the damage”said the commander of the Latvian navy, Maris Polencs, at a press conference.
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Following this incident, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, expressed her “Total solidarity” with European countries affected.
The Baltic Sea area, bordered by NATO countries and Russia, has been regular such incidents, since the start of the war in Ukraine, materializing a boost of tensions in the area. The latest incident, in November, between Denmark and Sweden, had led to the opening of an investigation targeting a Chinese truquier which was in the area at the time of the cable break. In January, the transatlantic organization announced a mission aimed at protecting these underwater infrastructure.
