German defense minister says damage to 2 Baltic data lines appears to be sabotage

BERLIN (AP) – Germany’s defense minister said Tuesday that officials must rule damage to two data cables under the Baltic Sea, one of which ends in Germany, was caused by vandalism – although he said he had no evidence yet.

Damage was discovered on Monday to the C-Lion1 cable that runs about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) from the Finnish capital, Helsinki, to the German port city of Rostock. Another cable between Lithuania and Sweden was also damaged.

Speaking in Brussels, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Russia is not just a military force but a hybrid threat, and that Europe needs to take a more comprehensive approach to defence. He said the damage to the two cables is “a clear sign that something is going on.”

“No one believes that these cables were cut by mistake, and I don’t want to believe in other versions that it was the anchors that caused damage to these cables,” he said at a regular meeting of the European Union’s defense ministers.

“So we have to say – without really knowing from whom – that this is a hybrid act. And we have to think – without knowing, obviously – that this is vandalism.”

The foreign ministers of Finland and Germany have already said on Monday evening that this damage caused suspicions of vandalism.

They said in a joint statement that the damage comes at a time when “our European security is threatened not only by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, but also by hybrid wars by rogue actors.”

The statement said countries are investigating the incident, and it is important that “such important infrastructure” is protected.