German Defense Minister Pistorius Suspects Sabotage of Two Undersea Data Cables in the Baltic Sea

On 18 November 2024, two undersea data cables in the Baltic Sea were reported damaged: the C-Lion1 cable between Finland and Germany in Swedish waters and another cable linking Sweden and Lithuania. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius explicitly suggested sabotage, describing the incident as a hybrid attack, though no direct proof or identified perpetrator is available yet. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock echoed these views, labeling the damage as a clear intimidation attempt linked to Russian hybrid activities against NATO and EU states. Lithuania responded by increasing surveillance of its waters. The damaged cables are critical infrastructure for data transmission in the Baltic region, with the C-Lion1 cable running 1,173 km from Helsinki to Rostock and being the only direct Finland-to-central-Europe data cable. Repairs, requiring specialized ships from France, are expected to take between five and fifteen days. The incident adds to previous sabotage acts, including the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions, highlighting ongoing security risks to undersea infrastructure amid geopolitical tensions with Russia.