Finland’s security and intelligence service, Supo, has described the number of cable incidents in the Baltic Sea as "exceptional" in recent years, even though state actors possess far more effective means of conducting underwater sabotage than simply dragging anchors.
The Baltic Sea region has been on high alert since a series of outages—including disruptions to power cables, telecom links, and gas pipelines—began following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. NATO has since increased its military presence in the area, deploying frigates, aircraft, and naval drones.
On Sunday, Finland released the oil tanker Eagle S, which is suspected of having damaged a Baltic Sea power cable and four data cables late last year. However, Finnish police have not yet reached definitive conclusions in several ongoing investigations.
Juha Martelius, head of Supo, emphasized that while the frequency of these incidents is notable, they are considered a secondary issue compared to the broader strategic threat in the region. “The biggest concern regarding the Baltic Sea is that Russia’s shadow fleet operates there and provides Russia with warfare capabilities by allowing Russia to sell energy to other countries,” he told Reuters. The "shadow fleet" refers to vessels used by Russia to transport oil, arms, and grains in defiance of international sanctions related to the Ukraine conflict.
In a national security review published on Tuesday, Supo noted that dozens of such vessels sail through the Gulf of Finland to Russian oil ports each week. Martelius warned that the abundance of these vessels increases the likelihood of further incidents affecting underwater critical infrastructure. He urged Western countries to take the threat seriously, stressing that state actors have significantly more effective capabilities for causing subsea destruction than by merely dragging anchors.
The ongoing investigations into these cable breaches underscore the persistent security challenges in the Baltic Sea region, as regional tensions and the potential for sabotage continue to grow.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran to expect further strikes on Saturday (7 March). In a post on social media, he said Iran would be '...
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened further attacks on Iran on Saturday (7 March), while the Uni...
Russian attacks on Ukraine’s second largest city in the early hours of Saturday (7 March) killed 10 people, inc...
Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport came under attack in heavy airstrikes on early Saturday morning (7 March), Iranian ne...
Baku has completed its evacuation of staff from the Azerbaijan Consulate General in Tabriz, while most employees from...
Finland’s Border Guard says it plans to establish a maritime surveillance centre to help prevent damage to critical undersea infrastructure in the Gulf of Finland, amid heightened concerns over cable and pipeline security in the Baltic Sea.
Finland and Sweden have called for tougher economic measures against Russia, proposing higher import duties, export restrictions, and an European Union ban on Russian energy shipments.
The number of reported hate crimes has risen steadily each year since around 2020 in Finland, according to the Police University College. In 2025, nearly 70% of the crime reports filed were motivated by the victims' ethnic or national background.
Türkiye and Finland have agreed to strengthen cooperation in defence and European security. Both countries held discussions in Helsinki to further these efforts.
Officials in Azerbaijan have said they have stopped terror attacks in Azerbaijan including on an Israeli Embassy, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and a Synagogue. Tensions between regional and global powers escalate. Military activity, security alerts and travel disruptions continue.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran to expect further strikes on Saturday (7 March). In a post on social media, he said Iran would be 'hit very hard'. His comments came a week into the conflict with Iran, which has spread across the Middle East.
Lebanon's Hezbollah warned Israeli residents to evacuate towns within 5 km (3.11 miles) of the border between the countries in a message posted on its Telegram channel in Hebrew early on Friday.
The Azerbaijani State Security Service has said it has stopped Iran committing terror attacks against four targets in the country: Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the Israeli Embassy in Azerbaijan, a leader of the Mountain Jews religious community and the "Ashkenazi" synagogue.
The Israeli military says it has destroyed an underground bunker beneath Iran’s leadership complex in Tehran that it claims was built for former supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Russian attacks on Ukraine’s second largest city in the early hours of Saturday (7 March) killed 10 people, including two children. Kharkiv mayor, Ihor Terekov, said 10 residents died after a Russian ballistic missile hit a five storey apartment block in the city.
A 35-year-old former rapper is on track to become Nepal’s next prime minister. Early counting in the elections on Friday (7 March) showed Balendra Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was leading in around 100 seats, far ahead of rivals.
Newly released FBI records summarising interviews with an unidentified woman contain allegations that U.S. President Donald Trump attempted to force her to perform a sexual act when she was a teenager, according to documents published by the U.S. Justice Department.
Australia’s move to ban social media access for children under 16 has intensified a global debate, as governments around the world weigh tougher rules amid growing concerns over mental health, safety and screen addiction.
Indonesia will restrict access to social media platforms for children under 16, its communications and digital ministry said on Friday (6 March), becoming the latest country to introduce online guardrails aimed at reducing the risks of addiction and cyberbullying.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment