The European Union has threatened new sanctions on Russian ships after Finland began investigating a tanker from a Russian port for the “sabotage” of an undersea electrical cable transporting power from Finland to Estonia.
On 25 December, the Estlink 2 undersea cable was disconnected, just over a month after two telecommunications cables were cut in Swedish territorial waters of the Baltic Sea.
“We commend Finnish authorities for their swift action and for boarding the suspect vessel,” said the European Commission and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, adding that the EU is “working” with Finland on the “ongoing investigation.”
“We strongly condemn any deliberate destruction of Europe’s critical infrastructure. The suspect vessel is part of Russia’s ghost fleet, which threatens security and the environment while funding Russia’s war budget. We will propose further measures, including sanctions, to target this fleet,” they added in a joint statement.
The "ghost fleet" refers to ships transporting Russian crude oil and petroleum products subject to embargo. Many similar incidents have occurred in the Baltic Sea since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The EU has announced measures to enhance the protection of undersea cables, including improving information sharing, implementing new detection technologies, boosting undersea repair capabilities, and cooperating internationally.
Earlier this month, EU countries agreed to blacklist an additional fifty tankers from Russia’s “ghost fleet,” used to circumvent Western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.
Related News
- Russia is a 'permanent threat' to the EU, says Finnish PM
- Belgium joins forces with North Sea countries to guard against Russian sabotage
- Russian 'ghost ships' scout locations for sabotage in North Sea
NATO has announced plans to "reinforce its military presence in the Baltic Sea," announced NATO chief Mark Rutte on Friday. Rutter spoke with Finnish President Alexander Stubb to express "full solidarity and support. NATO will bolster its military presence in the Baltic Sea," Rutte wrote on X.
On Friday, Estonia announced it had launched sea patrols to protect its electric connection with Finland. "We have decided to deploy our navy near Estlink 1 (another undersea cable in the Baltic Sea) to defend and secure our energy connection with Finland," the Defence Minister announced.
There have been numerous similar incidents in the Baltic Sea since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
