NATO will increase its military presence in the Baltic Sea after the incident with the submarine cable, the head of the alliance said

LONDON

The head of NATO on Friday expressed full solidarity and support for the investigation into “possible sabotage of submarine cables”, pointing to an increased military presence in the Baltic Sea.

Mark Rutte said he had a phone conversation with Finnish President Alexander Stubb regarding Finland’s ongoing investigation into possible sabotage of submarine cables.

“I expressed my full solidarity and support. #NATO will increase its military presence in the Baltic Sea,” he wrote on X.

Rutte also spoke by phone with Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal on Thursday about the incident, saying NATO stands in solidarity with allies and condemns any attack on critical infrastructure.

Finnish authorities said on Wednesday that an undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia had been damaged, the latest in a series of incidents involving critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

Finnish grid operator Fingrid said on Wednesday that the Estlink 2 interconnector went offline at 12:26 local time (10:26 GMT).

Fingrid chief operating officer Arto Pakhkin told public broadcaster Yle that a sabotage cannot be ruled out and the investigation is ongoing.

Finnish police said on Thursday that they are investigating the rupture of the Estlink 2 power cable in Finland’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Gulf of Finland in cooperation with other authorities.

Helsinki police and border guards conducted a tactical operation on the vessel and authorities took investigative action on the vessel, police said.

The Baltic Sea has become the scene of several high-profile infrastructure incidents since the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine in February 2022, which has increased tensions in the region.

*Nur Asena Ertürk contributed to this report from Ankara

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