politics
March 13, 2026
No evidence Russia sabotaged Baltic cables
There is no evidence to support claims that Russia has been behind damage to Baltic Sea undersea cables, Finland’s spy chief has admitted
TL;DR
- Finland's spy chief Juha Martelius stated there is no evidence of Russian state involvement in damaging Baltic Sea underwater cables.
- This assessment is reportedly broadly shared within the European intelligence community.
- Previous accusations of Russian sabotage and hybrid warfare have lacked supporting evidence.
- Moscow has consistently denied involvement, calling such claims "absurd".
- Martelius suggested that Russia has no motive to disrupt the area, as its own infrastructure has been damaged in some incidents.
- The Finnish spy chief pointed to Russia's alleged "shadow fleet" as the likely cause, citing poorly maintained vessels and undertrained crews leading to anchor-dragging.
- Russia maintains the existence of such a fleet is unfounded and the term is propaganda.
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