An undersea fibre optic cable linking Latvia with a strategically important Nato island in Sweden was “severely damaged” in a suspected sabotage on Sunday.
Damage to the cable, which links the Latvian town of Ventspils with the island of Gotland, was probably caused by “external influence”, said Evika Silina, the Latvian prime minister.
The Latvian navy dispatched a patrol boat to inspect a vessel thought to have been involved, while two more were under investigation.
It came days after Russia accused Nato vessels of carrying “abuses” in the Baltic Sea under the guise of its recently announced patrol mission Baltic Sentry.
Latvian authorities said they believed the cable had been “significantly damaged” and that part of it remained exposed, according to LSM, the Latvian public broadcaster.
Gotland is considered strategically significant for Nato given its proximity to Baltic states which border Russia on their eastern flank. Due to its location, the island could be used to deploy significant military capabilities, including missile systems.
Baltic Sentry mission launched
Ms Silina responded to the suspected sabotage by calling an urgent government meeting.
Meanwhile, Ulf Kristersson, Sweden’s prime minister, said his country was cooperating closely with Latvia and Nato allies.
“Sweden will contribute important capabilities to the ongoing effort to investigate the suspected incident,” Mr Kristersson said on X.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, expressed “full solidarity” with EU countries after the incident.
“The resilience and security of our critical infrastructure is a top priority,” she said in a statement. “The [European Commission] is committed to improving detection, prevention and repair with global partners.”
Nato boosted its presence in the Baltic Sea in late December after a vessel damaged a power cable and four communications links between Estonia and Finland.
In 2023 and 2024, vessels sailing to or from Russia damaged a gas pipeline and undersea cables in the Baltic Sea in what Western officials believed was intentional sabotage.
Nato launched its Baltic Sentry mission in response to this on Jan 15, with member nations deploying a flotilla of vessels to act as “security cameras”, according to a senior taskforce official.
Finnish police seized a tanker carrying Russian oil last month which they suspected had damaged the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and four telecoms cables by dragging its anchor across the seabed.
