Nato launches mission to protect undersea cables amid heightened fears of Russian sabotage
14 January 2025, 16:23
Nato has launched a new mission to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea amid heightened fears of Russian sabotage and spying.
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Nato chief Mark Rutte said the mission, named “Baltic Sentry”, will involve increased surveillance of ships after critical cables were damaged or severed last year.
Making the announcement at a summit in Helsinki, he said "there is reason for grave concern" over damage to infrastructure.
Despite Russia not being directly singled out as a culprit in the cable damage, Rutte said Nato would step up its monitoring of Moscow's "shadow fleet".
Tensions between Nato countries and Russia have been escalating since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Rutte said NATO’s adversaries must know that the alliance will not accept attacks on its critical infrastructure.
“We will do everything in our power to make sure that we fight back, that we are able to see what is happening and then take the next steps to make sure that that doesn’t happen again,” he said.
Rutte added that Nato would respond to these incidents robustly, with more boarding and, if necessary, seizing of suspect vessels.
“Ship captains must understand that potential threats to our infrastructure will have consequences, including possible boarding, impounding, and arrest,” he said.
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All Nato countries perched on the Baltic sea were present at the Helsinki summit.
Rutte declined to reveal the number of assets involved in the mission saying it could change regularly and he did not wish to make "the enemy any wiser than he or she is already".
Undersea infrastructure is essential for electricity supply and secures more than 95% of internet traffic, Rutte said.
He added that "1.3 million kilometres (800,000 miles) of cables guarantee an estimated 10 trillion-dollar worth of financial transactions every day".
In a post on X, he said Nato would do "what it takes to ensure the safety and security of our critical infrastructure and all that we hold dear".
