US, European intel now say ‘accidents’, not Russia, to blame for damaged Baltic cables

NATO intelligence has found “no indication” that the commercial vessels dragging their anchors across underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea “did so intentionally or at the direction of Moscow.”

There was an “emerging consensus” among US and European intelligence services that the cables were damaged by accident, officials cited by the Washington Post said.

NATO announced plans to boost patrols in the Baltic Sea this week after a string of incidents involving the severing of telecommunications and energy cables in the region, initially blamed on a Russian “hybrid campaign” against Europe.

Now, officials say intercepted communications and other classified info found that they were caused by “inexperienced crews serving aboard poorly maintained vessels.”

The investigations studied three incidents, involving:

🔸 The Eagle S, an oil tanker seized by Finland in late December after the vessel was accused of dragging its anchor across the Estlink 2 powerline linking Estonia and Finland. Finnish President Alexander Stubb earlier claimed the incident was “definitely” Russia-linked.

🔸 The Yi Peng 3, a Chinese bulk carrier accused of severing two Baltic Sea fiberoptic cables in Swedish waters in November, which was held for more than a month in a Danish shipping lane during an investigation. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called that incident “sabotage.”

🔸 The Newnew Polar Bear, a Hong Kong-registered ship that damaged the Balticconnector pipeline linking Finland and Estonia in October 2023. China acknowledged the ship’s responsibility for the damage last August.

The conclusion that Russia was not responsible for attacking Baltic infrastructure is gratifying, if somewhat surprising, given the tendency of Western intel to blame Moscow first and ask questions later, exemplified by the claim that Russia blew up its own Nord Stream pipeline infrastructure in 2022 because…reasons?

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