Following the severing of two undersea data cables in the Baltic Sea, U.S. allies in Europe have accused Russia of escalating hybrid warfare against NATO and EU member states.
This accusation follows Moscow’s claim that six U.S.-made missiles struck Russian territory on Tuesday. The cables, one linking Finland to Germany and the other Sweden to Lithuania, were cut in the preceding two days, according to Reuters.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated, as quoted by Reuters, “No one believes that these cables were cut accidentally. We must assume, although we don’t yet know for certain, that it was sabotage.”
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski reportedly added, “If Russia does not stop committing acts of sabotage in Europe, Warsaw will close the rest of its consulates in Poland.”
The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement declaring that “Moscow’s escalating hybrid activities against NATO and EU countries are… unprecedented in their variety and scale, creating significant security risks.”
However, the statement stopped short of directly blaming Moscow for the cable damage.
“To meet this historic challenge, we are determined to stand united with our European and transatlantic partners to address European security comprehensively,” the statement continued. “European countries must play an even greater role in ensuring our own security, working alongside our transatlantic and global partners.”
Cinia, Finland’s state-controlled data services provider, reported that damage to the C-Lion1 cable, running nearly 750 miles from Helsinki to Rostock, was detected on Monday.
According to Finnish public broadcaster YLE, the C-Lion1, commissioned in 2016, is Finland’s sole direct data communications cable to central Europe.
“A data cable between Finland and Germany was damaged, disrupting service. Swedish authorities are investigating as the incident occurred in Swedish waters,” a senior European official stated.
In a joint statement, the Finnish and German foreign ministries noted that the damage occurred at a time when “our European security is threatened not only by Russia’s aggression but also by hybrid warfare from malicious actors.”
The statement indicated that both countries were investigating and emphasized the importance of safeguarding such “critical infrastructure.”
“The fact that such an incident immediately raises suspicions of intentional damage speaks volumes about the volatility of our times,” the two countries added.
’ Anders Hagstrom, Jennifer Griffin and