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Germany suspects sabotage after damage to undersea cables

In October 2023, a natural gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was damaged.

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Two internet cables under the Baltic Sea have been cut in a suspected act of sabotage. This raises security concerns among European officials.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday that the cutting of two internet cables under the Baltic Sea looks like an act of sabotage. These cables connect NATO countries, and their damage is worrying for security.

The cables were cut on Sunday and Monday, causing problems for internet services. The operators of these cables reported the breaks, but no one knows exactly what caused it yet. 

This isn’t the first time such things have happened in the area. Last year, there were similar problems, and at first, Finland and Estonia thought Russia was responsible. Later, they found out that a Chinese cargo ship’s anchor caused the damage.

Pistorius told reporters in Brussels that it’s hard to believe these cables were cut by accident. He said it seems like part of a "hybrid" attack, which is when different types of attacks are used together. While no one knows for sure who is responsible, Pistorius said something unusual is going on.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen also shared their concern. They said incidents like this show how unstable things are right now. 

One of the cables that was cut is called C-Lion1. It connects Finland and Germany and is about 1,170 kilometers long. The damage happened in Swedish waters, far from the usual shipping routes. 

Cinia, the Finnish company that runs the C-Lion1, thinks an anchor might have caused the break, but they still can’t confirm exactly what happened.

What’s interesting is that the damaged C-Lion1 cable is close to the Nord Stream gas pipelines. These pipelines were destroyed by explosions in September 2022. There were many questions about who was behind that attack, but no one knows for sure.

Another cable, the BCS East-West-Interlink, which connects Lithuania to Sweden, was also damaged on Sunday. The cause of this damage is still unknown. These two incidents happened during a time when tensions with Russia are high, and many are worried about attacks on important infrastructure.

Nikolay Patrushev, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, had warned before that the US and UK might target underwater cables. This kind of attack is called hybrid warfare, which mixes different methods to cause harm.

The damage to the C-Lion1 cable is causing concern in Europe. Both Germany and Finland said that this shows Europe’s security is at risk, not just because of Russia’s war in Ukraine but also from attacks by unknown people. 

Cinia said the cable was probably cut by an outside force and that it could take 5 to 15 days to fix. At the same time, Sweden has started an investigation into whether it was sabotage.

Even though these incidents are alarming, they haven’t caused big problems for internet traffic. There are other routes for internet traffic, so people haven’t felt much of an impact. But the damage to these important cables is still serious, and it could have long-term effects on communication and security.

Swedish civil defense minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said it’s very important to find out why these cables were damaged. He said it is a key part of keeping the country safe. He also mentioned that around 20% of Lithuania’s internet was affected, but most people didn’t feel it.

As investigations continue, experts say that damage to cables in the Baltic isn’t rare. Fishing boats with anchors sometimes accidentally damage cables. But the timing of these cuts seems strange.

This is not the first time an important pipeline has been attacked in Europe. In October 2023, a natural gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was damaged. At first, people thought it was caused by an anchor, but it turned out that a Chinese cargo ship was responsible.

As tensions continue to grow, European leaders are calling for better protection of undersea cables and other important infrastructure. They warn that attacks like these can make the region less safe and create new security threats.

 

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