An undersea data cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged early on January 26, the latest in a series of similar incidents in the Baltic Sea in which critical seabed energy and communications lines are believed to have been severed by ships traveling to or from Russian ports.

There has been a sharp rise in damage to undersea cables in the Baltic, with at least 11 incidents reported since October 2023.

Shipping firms may need to pay a fee to use the Baltic Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping routes, in order to cover the high costs of protecting undersea cables, Estonia's defence minister said on Wednesday following a spate of breaches.

Russia has condemned the Western alliance for ramping up its naval presence in the so-called 'NATO lake' after alleged sabotage by Moscow-linked vessels.

Numerous incidents of suspected Russian-linked sabotage of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea has seen tensions rise among nearby countries, and an increased Nato presence.

Intelligence officials in the U.S. and Europe have suggested that recent incidents damaging critical cables in the Baltic Sea were accidental, according to a Washington Post report. Western geostrategic self-deception has overly emphasized fears of escalation and cornering Russia.

Following a series of suspicious sabotage incidents, NATO countries have implemented patrols in the Baltic Sea to monitor the activities of Russian ships suspected of targeting undersea cables. This sea,

Russia's oil shipments via the Baltic Sea fell by roughly 10% in the last four months of 2024, the Finnish Border Guard said, as the impact of EU sanctions against Russian oil and gas exports adopted in June took effect.

Incidents damaging Europe’s undersea networks have become more frequent since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, raising suspicions they are the result of sabotage.

Trump aid freeze threatens troop support as North Korea partially withdraws forces - US aid freeze is a ‘very severe blow’, Ukrainian soldier’s wife says

The North Korean troops, who have been fighting alongside Russia, have temporarily withdrawn from one of the axes of Kursk oblast where Ukraine’s 73rd Special Operation Forces (SOF) centre is deployed, colonel Oleksandr Kindratenko, an SOF spokesperson, told the Kyiv Independent.