NATO will deploy up to 10 ships to safeguard Baltic infrastructure.

Security will be provided by ships already present in the Baltic Sea, as well as those that NATO countries will send directly. These forces will remain at sea until April.

The ships will primarily serve a deterrent function and patrol areas where energy and telecommunications cables are located. At the same time, NATO is not permitted to obstruct the passage of vessels from other countries in international waters.

Security in the Gulf of Finland will continue with the forces of Finland and Estonia.

The NATO military alliance has decided to strengthen its presence in the Baltic Sea at the request of Finland and Estonia in light of recent damage to underwater cables.

On December 25 of last year, the authorities of Finland and Estonia suspected that the tanker "Eagle S" had damaged the Estlink 2 electric cable and four telecommunications cables in the Gulf of Finland. According to Helsinki and Tallinn, the tanker is part of Russia's "shadow fleet" and helps bypass Western sanctions by delivering Russian oil to third countries.

The Finnish police reported the discovery of an anchor on the route taken by the "Eagle S," reports Radio Free Europe.

The tanker has been detained by Finnish authorities. The captain and one crew member of the oil tanker are citizens of Georgia, reported Radio Free Europe citing the Georgian Maritime Transport Agency. A representative of the Georgian embassy has been informed about the detention of the two crew members.

In November of last year, a cable was damaged between Sweden, Lithuania, Finland, and Germany.

In October 2023, the vessel "New-new polar bear" damaged the Balticconnector gas pipeline and several cables.

Russia denies any involvement in the damage to underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

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