"Clear sign"

Defective data cables: Pistorius suspects sabotage

Pistorius sees the damaged data cables as "a clear sign that something is going on here".(Bild: AP/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius suspects a deliberate act by a third party in the case of the two data cables damaged in the Baltic Sea. It is obvious that it was a hybrid action, Pistorius said before consultations of the EU defense ministers in Brussels on Tuesday. "We must also assume that it was sabotage."

At the very least, he did not assume that the cables had been accidentally damaged by dropped anchors, Pistorius continued. Rather, it was "a clear sign that something is going on here". The minister admitted that there was still no evidence of sabotage, "but it looks like it".

Data cable interrupted
On Monday, a 1200-kilometer data cable between the Finnish capital Helsinki and the northern German city of Rostock was down, according to the Finnish state-controlled cyber security and telecommunications company Cinia. A 218-kilometer Internet connection between Lithuania and the Swedish island of Gotland was also interrupted on Sunday, according to the Lithuanian company Telia Lietuva.

The foreign ministries in Berlin and Helsinki expressed their concern on Monday evening. "This incident immediately raises suspicions of deliberate damage," they said in a joint statement. "Europe's security is not only threatened by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, but also by hybrid warfare." An investigation has been launched. "The protection of our common critical infrastructure is crucial for our security and the resilience of our societies."

Lithuanian navy increases surveillance of waters
The Lithuanian navy announced on Tuesday that it had increased surveillance of its waters. An assessment is now being carried out together with allies, a spokesperson for the Lithuanian armed forces explained. According to the owner of the cable, Arelion, the connection between Lithuania and Sweden is "completely interrupted", but the cause is still unclear, a spokesperson said. According to the operator, the damage to the Finland-Germany cable occurred near the southern tip of the Swedish island of Öland and could take five to fifteen days to repair.

The incidents are reminiscent of the acts of sabotage against the Nord Stream gas pipelines connecting Russia with Germany in the Baltic Sea. They were destroyed by explosions in 2022 and investigations are still ongoing.