VILNIUS - The impact of incidents involving damage done to cables in the Baltic Sea may tempt Russia to engage in deliberate sabotage in this area, Darius Jauniskis, director of Lithuania's State Security Department, warns.
"We cannot rule out that Russia may not had that intention (to deliberately organize acts of sabotage in the Baltic Sea - BNS), but seeing our reaction and how it is possible to have impact on the whole Western world, (...) I would not rule out that certain services and the Kremlin may take advantage of this and deliberately do it (...) by showing that you are getting out of the BRELL (the joint energy system with Russia and Belarus - BNS), but we will cut the cables for you, and what will you do then?" Jauniskis told the Ziniu Radijas news radio on Tuesday, referring to the Baltic states' planned disconnection from the Russian energy grid and their connection to Western Europe in February.
His comment came in response to the latest incident when the Latvian State Radio and Television Center's data cable between Sweden and Latvia was damaged on Sunday morning, and the incident was not prevented by the launch of NATO patrols in the Baltic Sea.
"We must react, we must take certain measures," Jauniskis said.
The biggest problem, he said, is that Lithuania does not have the laws to force these ships to enter its economic zone "where they can be questioned and investigated fairly, because under the current laws they are not obliged to report, they are not obliged to cooperate".
In recent months, several submarine telecommunication and electricity cables have been severed in the Baltic Sea. According to experts and politicians, this may be part of Russia's organized hybrid warfare.
2025 © The Baltic Times /Cookies Policy Privacy Policy