Lithuania’s intelligence chief says there is as yet no evidence that underwater telecommunications and electricity cables in the Baltic Sea were damaged deliberately.
“We have no information yet that it was intentional,” Darius Jauniškis, director of the State Security Department (VSD), told reporters on Wednesday. “Our role is to monitor, to get all possible information and to inform in order to be better prepared.”
While operators say that incidents when submarine cables get damaged are relatively common, the frequency and concentration of these incidents in the Baltic Sea have reinforced suspicions that they may have been deliberate.
Politicians have accused Russia of orchestrating attacks on underwater infrastructure as part of its “hybrid war” against EU and NATO countries.
In response to the series of incidents, NATO member states launched a new surveillance mission in the Baltic Sea in January to protect critical underwater infrastructure in the region and prevent attempts to attack it.
The situation in the region remains tense, Jauniškis said.
“I wouldn’t say things have calmed down. I have repeatedly said that the situation remains hot and will get hotter, looking ahead. It would be naive to be under the illusion that our troubled neighbours will calm down,” he said.
In total, at least 11 underwater cables have been damaged in the Baltic Sea since October 2023.
According to Jauniškis, there have been recent attempts to mislead and scare local populations in the Baltic countries, particularly in Latvia and Estonia, into believing that last week’s electric grid synchronisation with Continental Europe will lead to blackouts.
“So far, we have not been monitoring anything apart from disinformation – and there has been a lot of it – but we need to monitor and protect the critical infrastructure as we don’t expect things to calm down,” Jauniškis said, adding that the VSD will present its annual public threat assessment in early March.
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