Damage to cables: EU prepares sanctions against Russia

The European Union announced further sanctions against Russia’s “shadow fleet” over cases of cable destruction at sea. This was stated in a joint statement by the European Commission and the High Representative for the investigation of damage to electrical and data cables in the Baltic Sea.

“The submarine cable incident in the Baltic Sea is the latest in a series of suspected attacks on critical infrastructure. We commend the prompt action of the Finnish authorities who inspected the vessel suspected of being involved in the incident. Cooperating we with the Finnish authorities during the ongoing Finland, Estonia and Germany,” said the statement.

The statement also noted that the EU strongly condemns any acts of deliberate destruction of Europe’s critical infrastructure.

“The suspected vessel is part of Russia’s so-called ‘shadow fleet,’ which threatens security and the environment while funding Russia’s military budget. We will propose additional measures, including sanctions, to target the this fleet,” the statement said.

In response to the incident, the EU tightened measures to protect underwater cables. In particular, it is planned to improve threat detection systems, expand international cooperation and increase the ability to repair underwater infrastructure.

EU representatives also emphasized that electricity supplies in the region are not currently under threat.

We remind you that in November the undersea cable between Finland and Germany was damaged, as a result of which telecommunication communications between the countries were cut off.

And on December 26, three communication cables between Estonia and Finland failed. The tanker Eagle S is suspected, which may be part of the “shadow fleet” of the Russian Federation.