Two undersea communication cables have been knocked offline in the Baltic Sea, and at least one appears to have been physically severed. CNN approved a local telecommunication company said that the cable line between Lithuania and Sweden was cut on Sunday morning. A second cable, approximately 60 to 65 miles from the first cable, routes the connection between Finland and Germany. The cause of the outage has not yet been determined, but officials suspect “intentional damage.”
Interruptions a September alert From the US on the increased risk of “sabotage” of Russian submarine cables. This is a. came later collaborative research Public broadcasters from Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland have reported that Russia has deployed a fleet of spy ships in Northern waters. They were reportedly part of a program designed to sabotage cables (and wind farms).
This does not leave European countries completely without online communications, as information is usually transmitted over several cables to avoid over-reliance on one cable.
Cinia, the state-controlled Finnish company that controls the second cable, said it had not yet determined what caused the outage as it had not yet carried out a physical inspection. However, the sudden cutoff reportedly indicates that it was also cut by an outside force.
Foreign Ministers of Finland and Germany a joint statement on monday. “We are very concerned about the severed submarine cable connecting Finland and Germany in the Baltic Sea,” they wrote. “The fact that such an event immediately raises suspicions of intentional damage shows the volatility of our times. A thorough investigation is underway. Our European security is threatened not only by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, but also by a rogue hybrid war. Protecting our shared critical infrastructure is vital to our security and the sustainability of our societies.”
The Lithuanian-Swedish cable, which handles about a third of Lithuania’s internet capacity, is expected to be repaired “within the next few weeks” and weather conditions may determine the exact timing.
