ANKARA

The EU suspects that Russia’s shadow fleet was involved in the destruction of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, according to an official statement on Thursday.

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

"We strongly condemn any deliberate destruction of Europe’s critical infrastructure. The suspected vessel is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which threatens security and the environment, while funding Russia’s war budget. We will propose further measures, including sanctions, to target this fleet," said a joint statement by the European Commission and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

The EU also stressed it remains "committed to ensuring the resilience and security" of its critical infrastructure and noted that there was "no risk to the security of electricity supply in the region" at the moment.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on X that he discussed the "reported possible sabotage of Baltic Sea cables" with Estonia's Prime Minister Kristen Michal.

“(NATO) stands in solidarity with Allies and condemns any attacks on critical infrastructure. We are following investigations by (Estonia) & (Finland), and we stand ready to provide further support," Rutte added.

Finnish power grid operator Fingrid said on Wednesday the Estlink 2 interconnector went offline at 12:26 pm local time (1026GMT).

Fingrid's head of operations Arto Pahkin told public broadcaster Yle that sabotage could not be ruled out and investigations are continuing.

The Baltic Sea has been the scene of several high-profile infrastructure incidents since the onset of Russia's war on Ukraine in February 2022, which heightened tensions in the region.

The latest incident follows the October shutdown of a Finnish-Estonian undersea gas pipeline after the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship reportedly damaged it.

Last month, two telecommunications cables linking Sweden and Denmark were severed. Authorities suspect the Chinese vessel Yi Peng 3, which sailed over the cables, but China denied Sweden's request to investigate the ship.

The Arelion submarine cable, which connects the Swedish island of Gotland to Lithuania, and the C-Lion 1 submarine communications cable that runs between Finland’s capital Helsinki and Germany’s Rostock city were also damaged in mid-November near Sweden's territorial waters.

European officials have suggested that sabotage could be behind the recent disruptions, potentially linked to Russia’s ongoing conflict in Ukraine. But the Kremlin has rejected the claims, calling them “absurd” and “laughable.”

The September 2022 explosions that ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines carrying Russian gas to Europe remain unresolved, underscoring the region’s vulnerability to undersea attacks on key infrastructure.

Authorities across the Baltic region continue to investigate these incidents amid heightened vigilance as geopolitical tensions show no sign of abating.