EU and NATO countries must respond appropriately to incidents in the Baltic Sea if investigations reveal they are hybrid attacks, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said after meeting with her Latvian and Estonian counterparts on Friday.
“We agreed that, in the face of intensifying hybrid aggression and kinetic attacks by unfriendly states in our region, we must stay calm but also remain alert and vigilant, ready for a firm joint response,” Šimonytė said at a press conference.
“Last week’s cable damages in the Baltic Sea only highlight the importance of coordination among the Baltic Sea countries,” she added.
Lithuania, Sweden, and Finland have launched preliminary investigations into the incidents in the Baltic Sea.
“Depending on their results, the EU and NATO allies must respond appropriately to malicious acts by applying restrictive measures,” said Šimonytė.
Lithuania’s telecoms company Telia Lietuva said on Tuesday that one of the three undersea communication cables between Sweden and Lithuania was damaged on Sunday morning.
This information was later confirmed by officials in Stockholm.
On Monday, Finland’s operator Cinia said that a cable connecting Helsinki and the German port of Rostock had also been cut for unknown reasons.
Politicians from Lithuania’s ruling majority suspect the incidents may be linked to Russian sabotage.
In recent months, European countries have seen an increase in incidents linked to hybrid attacks from Russia, including a fire at an Ikea store in Vilnius and incendiary parcels sent from Lithuania to Germany and the United Kingdom.
In Lithuania, law enforcement institutions are investigating “more than ten” such incidents, according to Prosecutor General Nida Grunskienė.
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