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.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb admitted there is no certainty about who is responsible for the cable breaks in the Baltic Sea. Local media suggest that authorities may be covering up Russia's role.

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

Cables deep under the Baltic Sea keep getting damaged - here is what Nato is doing to protect them - Nato is deploying eyes in the sky and on the Baltic Sea to protect cables and pipelines

NATO is deploying eyes in the sky and on the Baltic Sea to protect cables and pipelines that stitch together the nine countries with shores on Baltic waters

Russia is "the main actor" in hybrid attacks on the alliance, said a senior NATO official following a spate of incidents.

German and Danish leaders, Olaf Scholz and Mette Frederiksen, discussed in Berlin assistance to Ukraine and countering hybrid threats posed by Russia. — Ukrinform.

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.

The attacks come as Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania prepare to cut on February 8 their electricity links to Russia and Belarus.

An overnight Ukrainian drone attack hit Russia's Andreapol oil pumping station, part of the oil export route via the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga, causing a fire and oil products to leak, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine said on Wednesday.

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.

After a series of suspected undersea cable cuttings, NATO has launched a new surveillance and deterrence mission to protect critical infrastructure under the Baltic Sea.