Two Undersea Cables in Baltic Sea Disrupted, Raising Concerns of 'Hybrid Warfare'

Moscow: Two undersea internet cables in Baltic Sea have been suddenly disrupted according to local telecommunications companies amid fresh warnings of possible Russian interference with global undersea infrastructure.

A communications cable between Lithuania and Sweden was cut on Sunday morning at around 10 am local time, various media reports said.

Telia Lithuania spokesperson Audrius Stasiulaitis told that company’s monitoring systems detected disruption in internet traffic and determined it was likely due to physical damage to cable.

"We can confirm that internet traffic disruption was not caused by equipment failure but by physical damage to fiber optic cable," he said.

Cinia, state-controlled Finnish company operating link, confirmed that anor cable connecting Finland and Germany was also disrupted. C-Lion cable, which spans nearly 1,200 kilometers — 730 miles, is only direct link of its kind between Finland and Central Europe, running alongside crucial infrastructure such as gas pipelines and power cables.

incidents occurred as Sweden and Finland, two of affected countries, issued updated survival guidance for ir citizens in event of war. Millions of households in Nordic nations will receive booklets outlining how to prepare for military conflicts, communication disruptions, and power outages.

Both countries became NATO members in past two years, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Germany Responds

Germany has said that it must assume damage to two undersea fiber-optic communication cables in Baltic Sea since Sunday was an act of sabotage.

“No one believes that cables were accidentally damaged. I also don’t want to believe that ships’ anchors caused damage by accident,” German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said in Brussels.

“We have to assume, without certain information, that damage is caused by sabotage.” he ded.

On Monday, Finnish and German foreign ministers issued a joint statement expressing ir “deep concern” over severed undersea cable between Finland and Germany, announcing that a “thorough investigation” was underway.
y were “deeply concerned” about severed C-Lion cable, and raised possibility of “hybrid warfare.”                
“ fact that such an incident immediately raises suspicions of intentional damage speaks volumes about volatility of our times,” said Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen and her German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock.

Restoration Underway

After disruptions, Arelion, operator of Lithuania-Sweden cable, confirmed it is in communication with Swedish military and civilian authorities. A ship has been sent to repair C-Lion cable, but process could take several weeks due to wear conditions.

Lithuanian State Media reported that Lithuania-Sweden cable handles about a third of Lithuania's internet capacity, and connectivity has since been restored following interruption.