European government and the United States have accused Russia of intensifying "hybrid attacks" following reports that Baltic Sea fiber-optic communications cables were damaged by suspected sabotage, although they have not yet directly tied Moscow to the damage.
Moscow has long denied it is involved in sabotaging Western infrastructure to punish European countries for their assistance to Ukraine's defense, but suspicions grew in Western capitals on November 19 that damage to two key Baltic Sea cables were likely the result of deliberate actions.
Ukraine's allies pointed to past incidents of alleged sabotage by Moscow, especially following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has hit the 1,000-day mark amid devastating losses on both sides.
"Moscow's escalating hybrid activities against NATO and EU countries are also unprecedented in their variety and scale, creating significant security risks," the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Britain said in a statement.
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Sabotage Suspected After Baltic Sea Cables Damaged Amid NATO Drills In Finland
"Our European security is not only under threat from Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors. Safeguarding our shared critical infrastructure is vital to our security and the resilience of our societies," the statement said.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, during his regular daily briefing, said Washington generally is "incredibly" concerned about hybrid warfare conducted by Russian and that it remains in touch with European allies, although he did not directly mention the cable damages.
The comments come as regional states investigated the cutting of the Baltic cables -- one connecting Finland to Germany and one linking Sweden and Lithuania -- following similar suspicious occurrences in the sea in recent years.
"If Russia does not stop committing acts of sabotage in Europe, Warsaw will close the rest of [Russia’s] consulates in Poland," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said.
Boris Pistorius, Germany defense chief, said, "No one believes that these cables were cut accidentally."
"We also have to assume, without knowing it yet, that it is sabotage," Pistorius said.
Swedish prosecutors and Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation separately said national authorities had launched investigations into the cut cables.
SEE ALSO: Parcels That Exploded In Europe Reportedly Part Of Russian PlotMoscow has said such allegations are being fabricated by the West to discredit Russia.
CNN in September cited two U.S. officials as stating that Washington believed Moscow was likely to carry out sabotage operations, saying it had been bolstering its secretive marine unit that deploys ships, submarines, and drones to survey the Baltic seabed.
NATO stepped up monitoring critical infrastructure in the Baltic following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the destruction of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline seven months later.
A year ago, Finland said it couldn't exclude that a "state actor" was responsible for damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline and a telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea.