RT reported that on January 15, NATO announced that it would launch a campaign to increase its presence in the Baltic Sea to protect deep-sea infrastructure, including telecommunications cables running between member states.
According to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the operation is called Baltic Sentry. Mr. Rutte revealed that the operation involves destroyers, maritime patrol aircraft and squadrons of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
NATO hopes the operation will boost deterrence and provide surveillance in the region following a series of recent undersea cable cuts in the Baltic Sea, which NATO has repeatedly accused Russia and China of being directly involved in.
The most recent incident occurred in late December 2024, when the Eagle S tanker was accused of deliberately cutting the EstLink2 cable, which connects Finland and Estonia. Finnish authorities immediately stopped the Eagle S and launched an investigation.
Although there are no final results, sources of the Financial Times revealed that this Russian ship was involved in the incident of three fiber optic data cables being cut in the Gulf of Finland in November 2024. However, due to lack of specific evidence, officials stopped short of accusing Moscow.
Also in December 2024, the Chinese ship Yi Yeng 3 was suspected of damaging telecommunications cables near the Nord Stream pipeline. The Wall Street Journal reported that Shanghai was "incited" by Moscow to use anchors to destroy the cables.
Neither Russia nor China has commented on the allegations. However, Moscow views the Baltic Sea as a strategic area for its naval operations and energy exports.
According to the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC), damage to undersea infrastructure is common, with around 200 cable failures reported each year. The majority of these failures are caused by human activities, such as accidentally dragging anchors across undersea cables or during fishing operations when nets or heavy equipment are dragged along the seabed.
According to RT, NATO's January 14 statement marks the latest increase in the bloc's military activities on its eastern flank, after NATO has continuously expanded in recent years in the name of dealing with the threat from Russia.
NATO members have repeatedly conducted naval exercises and air patrol missions in the Baltic Sea. In some cases, NATO has also used fighter jets near the Russian border, leading to clashes with the Russian air force.
