Lithuanian official on attempts to damage NordBalt: such incidents aren't accidental

  • 2025-01-13
  • BNS/TBT Staff

VILNIUS - Following Swedish media reports about attempts to damage the NordBalt underwater electricity cable linking Lithuania and Sweden, Deputy Energy Minister Arnoldas Pikzirnis said on Monday that incidents involving critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea are not accidental.

According to Pikzirnis, protecting regional infrastructure requires a swift NATO response.

"What is being reported by Swedish media shows that we can't believe that what is happening in the Baltic Sea is accidental, and we must take these sabotage cases or attempts to sabotage the infrastructure very seriously," the official told LRT Radio.

"This shows that a swift NATO response is necessary to protect the interests of our consumers and our entire infrastructure - both the electricity market and price stability," he added.

Earlier on Monday, Pikzirnis posted on Facebook that he had discussed the situation with Sweden's ambassador to Lithuania, Lars Wahlund, adding that leaders of the Baltic Sea countries will soon seek high-level solutions to better protect the region's infrastructure.

Sweden's public broadcaster SVT reported on Sunday that marks left by an anchor dragging were found on the NordBalt cable on the seabed.

According to Swedish Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin, the damage was likely caused by the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3, which severed telecommunication cables between Sweden and Lithuania and between Germany and Finland on November 17-18 last year while dragging its anchor.