Undersea Internet Cable Linking NATO Countries Sustains Damage
A Swedish minister promptly accused sabotage in response to recent events; however, it has been confirmed that at least one of the ruptures was an accident. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
A Swedish minister has raised concerns over potential sabotage of the country’s telecommunications infrastructure following reports of a fiber-optic cable being damaged in two locations in southern Finland. However, Finnish telecom provider Elisa later clarified that at least one of the breaks was unintentionally caused by an excavator.
In the past year, several similar incidents have occurred in the region, with officials from Nordic and Baltic countries often attributing blame to Russia. Yet, no evidence has supported these claims, and many of the incidents have been found to be accidental.
The media reported on Tuesday that the two breaks, both located in Finland, had occurred. The cable operator stated that one of the damaged lines connecting the Nordic countries was repaired overnight, while work on the second break is still ongoing. Global Connect, responsible for the line, estimated that around 6,000 households and 100 businesses in Finland experienced internet outages at one point on Monday, while the disruption did not affect residents in Sweden.
Initially, Swedish media, including public broadcaster SVT and Aftonbladet, stated that Finnish police suspected criminality in the case. However, law enforcement later clarified that “contrary to media reports, the Finnish police have no ongoing criminal investigation into the damage to the fiber optic cable between Finland and Sweden.”
Carl-Oskar Bohlin, Swedish Civil Defense Minister, told Aftonbladet that “due to the circumstances surrounding what happened, sabotage is suspected.”
In contrast, Jaakko Wallenius, Elisa’s director of safety, informed Helsingin Sanomat that it had been confirmed that one of the breaks was caused by an excavator, with the individual responsible for the damage reporting the incident. Yle quoted Wallenius describing the situation as a “very ordinary accident” due to the ongoing “fiber construction work.”
Niklas Ekstrom, Global Connect’s communications manager, also stated that one of the breaches was linked to construction activity, while the cause of the second fault is still under investigation, as reported by the Associated Press.
Last month, two undersea fiber-optic cables—the BCS East-West-Interlink, connecting Lithuania to Sweden, and the C-Lion, linking Finland and Germany—were damaged in quick succession in the Baltic Sea.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius promptly suggested that these ruptures might be acts of “sabotage.”
The Financial Times later reported, citing an anonymous source, that a Chinese-registered merchant vessel traveling from Russia to Egypt had become a focus of suspicion.
Rohan Mehta for TROIB News
In the past year, several similar incidents have occurred in the region, with officials from Nordic and Baltic countries often attributing blame to Russia. Yet, no evidence has supported these claims, and many of the incidents have been found to be accidental.
The media reported on Tuesday that the two breaks, both located in Finland, had occurred. The cable operator stated that one of the damaged lines connecting the Nordic countries was repaired overnight, while work on the second break is still ongoing. Global Connect, responsible for the line, estimated that around 6,000 households and 100 businesses in Finland experienced internet outages at one point on Monday, while the disruption did not affect residents in Sweden.
Initially, Swedish media, including public broadcaster SVT and Aftonbladet, stated that Finnish police suspected criminality in the case. However, law enforcement later clarified that “contrary to media reports, the Finnish police have no ongoing criminal investigation into the damage to the fiber optic cable between Finland and Sweden.”
Carl-Oskar Bohlin, Swedish Civil Defense Minister, told Aftonbladet that “due to the circumstances surrounding what happened, sabotage is suspected.”
In contrast, Jaakko Wallenius, Elisa’s director of safety, informed Helsingin Sanomat that it had been confirmed that one of the breaks was caused by an excavator, with the individual responsible for the damage reporting the incident. Yle quoted Wallenius describing the situation as a “very ordinary accident” due to the ongoing “fiber construction work.”
Niklas Ekstrom, Global Connect’s communications manager, also stated that one of the breaches was linked to construction activity, while the cause of the second fault is still under investigation, as reported by the Associated Press.
Last month, two undersea fiber-optic cables—the BCS East-West-Interlink, connecting Lithuania to Sweden, and the C-Lion, linking Finland and Germany—were damaged in quick succession in the Baltic Sea.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius promptly suggested that these ruptures might be acts of “sabotage.”
The Financial Times later reported, citing an anonymous source, that a Chinese-registered merchant vessel traveling from Russia to Egypt had become a focus of suspicion.
Rohan Mehta for TROIB News
