Undersea cable sabotage in Baltic: Russia denies involvement
The head of the State Duma's defence committee, Andrei Kartapolov, was questioned about Russia's involvement in the damage to cables in the Baltic Sea. "I think it's a sawfish," the politician jested. The Russian Foreign Ministry urges not to seek the "hand of Moscow."
Damage occurred to cables connecting Germany with Finland and Lithuania with Sweden in the Baltic Sea. The head of the State Duma's defence committee, Andrei Kartapolov, suggested that a sawfish is responsible for the incident. "I think it's a sawfish," he mockingly responded to journalists' questions.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, represented by Maria Zakharova, appealed to not attribute responsibility to Russia for every incident. Zakharova commented on this in response to Western media reports regarding the possible use by Russia of a ship flying under the Chinese flag to sabotage NATO countries' underwater infrastructure.
An act of sabotage?
Damage to an undersea telecommunications cable lying on the Baltic Sea floor between Lithuania and Sweden was reported by the company Telia on Monday. That same day, Finnish company Cinia announced a similar cable break connecting Helsinki with Rostock, Germany.
Andrius Semeskevicius from the Lithuanian operator Telia emphasised that both cables were cut, ruling out accidental anchor dropping. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius suggested it could be an act of sabotage.
Chinese ship under scrutiny
Suspicions fell on the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3, which left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on 15 November. The ship drew attention from the Danish military due to unusual manoeuvres. The ship's captain, Russian Aleksander Stechentsev, claimed he left the vessel after an hour and a half into the voyage.
The Stockholm police have launched an investigation into potential sabotage.
The United States had previously warned of increased Russian activity around crucial undersea cables. U.S. officials indicated that the Russian Ministry of Defence is preparing a unit to sabotage NATO countries' communication infrastructure.
