Swedish authorities said Tuesday an underwater telecommunication cable between Sweden and Estonia was damaged earlier this month, around the same time Finland reported a gas pipeline leak.
“At present, we cannot say what caused the damage, but we can say that it occurred in temporal connection with the previously known damage,” said Swedish Minister for Civil Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin on X after a joint press conference with Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson, the Swedish navy chief and the Coast Guard chief.
Bohlin said the incident reportedly occurred around the same time Finland reported a Balticconnector gas pipeline leak and damage to a communications cable between Finland and Estonia on October 8.
While an investigation into the leak is still ongoing, Finnish officials have said a “state actor” could be responsible and that damage to both the gas pipeline and communication cable was likely to have been caused by “external activity.” Some have pointed their fingers at Russia, an accusation Russian President Vladimir Putin swiftly dismissed.
Bohlin said the damage — which he said was partial damage and not a total break — did not occur within Swedish territorial waters or the Swedish economic zone.
“Sweden has offered assistance to Estonia in the continued investigation of what is behind the damage,” he said on X after the press conference.
NATO expressed its support throughout the investigation and promised a “united and determined response” if the damage turns out to be the result of an attack, as both Finland and Estonia are members of the military alliance. Sweden’s bid to join NATO, on the other hand, has stalled, as Hungary and Turkey have failed to give their formal approval.
