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

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.

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.

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,

Germany has deployed an underwater stealth drone to patrol the Baltic Sea in an attempt to confront Chinese and Russian saboteurs. First reported by The Telegraph, the Blue Whale drone was produced by Israeli defense firm Elta in light of recent cable cuts across the Baltic Sea.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has warned of the threat posed by hybrid warfare from Moscow after an underwater Baltic Sea cable was severed. Scholz was speaking as he met Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

With its powerful camera, the French Navy surveillance plane scouring the Baltic Sea zoomed in on a cargo ship plowing the waters below — closer, closer and closer still until the camera operator could make out details on the vessel's front deck and smoke pouring from its chimney.

Europes undersea infrastructure faces increasing disruptions, with gas pipelines, power lines, and data cables under threat. Recent damage to a critical cable between Sweden and Latvia adds to the series of incidents across the Baltic Sea.

On Sunday, an undersea cable ferrying data between Sweden and Latvia was damaged, most likely as a result of an external force, Latvia said.

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.

Denmark will scrap plans to build new patrol and environmental vessels for the Baltic Sea and instead design ships to carry out tasks around Greenland.