Measures will be sought to improve infrastructure security - Lithuanian DefMin

VILNIUS - Additional measures will be sought to enhance the security of critical infrastructure following damage to a power cable in the Baltic Sea on Wednesday, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

"Since the beginning of incidents and damage to underwater infrastructure, the Navy has stepped up surveillance and patrols in the Baltic Sea. As the incidents are recurring, additional measures will be sought to increase the security of our critical infrastructure and our resilience to hybrid threats," the ministry said in a press release.

On Christmas Day, the Estlink 2 submarine cable that carries electricity from Finland to Estonia was disconnected from the grid, just over a month after two telecommunications cables were severed in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea.

According to the ministry, the Lithuanian authorities are cooperating closely with their foreign partners and are ready to provide all the necessary assistance to Finland and Estonia.

"When we received information about new incidents in the Baltic Sea related to damage to critical infrastructure, we ensured prompt sharing of information with allies in the Baltic and Nordic countries and preparedness to take additional security measures, if necessary," the press release quoted Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene as saying.

"Since the beginning of these incidents, the Naval Forces of the Lithuanian Armed Forces have reinforced their surveillance and patrols in the Baltic Sea. We are prepared for all scenarios. The protection of maritime infrastructure remains a priority. We will support Estonian and Finnish initiatives to strengthen protection," the minister added.

Cable failures no longer seem like a coincidence, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said in response to the latest incident.

Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas said that the Lithuanian energy system has been stable after the incident and that there has been no significant impact on electricity prices.

Finnish authorities said Thursday they were investigating an oil tanker that sailed from a Russian port over the suspected "sabotage" of the power cable linking Finland and Estonia.

In his turn, Finnish President Alexander Stubb called for ruling out the risks posed by Russian shadow fleet vessels.

Early on November 17 this year, the Arelion telecommunications cable running from the Swedish island of Gotland to Lithuania was damaged.

The next day, the C-Lion 1 submarine cable connecting Helsinki and the German port of Rostock was cut south of Sweden's Oland island.

European officials have said they suspect several of the incidents are sabotage linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which the Kremlin has dismissed as "absurd" and "laughable".

EU countries agreed earlier this month to blacklist around 50 more oil tankers from Russia's "shadow fleet", used to circumvent Western sanctions over the Ukraine war. The move was part of a 15th package of sanctions to be imposed by the 27-nation bloc since Moscow's invasion.