Unexplained Baltic cable damage sparks sabotage fears
During the weekend, an undersea telecommunication cable at the bottom of the Baltic Sea sustained damage. The head of the Lithuanian National Crisis Management Center noted that if the damage is mechanical or physical, it is most likely deliberate.
5:52 PM EST, November 19, 2024
In the past two days, two undersea telecommunication cables connecting Finland with Germany and Lithuania with Sweden have failed. The causes of these malfunctions are unknown.
On Tuesday, November 19, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called the cable damage at the bottom of the Baltic Sea an act of sabotage. The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation has begun looking into the matter.
Vilmantas Vitkauskas, the head of the Lithuanian National Crisis Management Center (NKVC), stated that there is insufficient information to determine precisely what occurred.
He noted that mechanical or physical damage is most likely the result of either intentional actions or accidental negligence. He also stressed that, at this stage, no possibilities can be excluded.
The head of the NKVC stressed the importance of beginning with the most challenging and hazardous tasks, such as sabotage or diversion.
Failures or sabotage?
As reported by the Telia company on Monday, on Sunday, November 17, an undersea telecommunication cable running at the bottom of the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and Sweden sustained damage.
On the same day, the Finnish company Cinia announced the disruption of a similar cable connecting Helsinki with Rostock, Germany.
"We also have to assume, without knowing it yet, that it is sabotage," emphasized Boris Pistorius.
