The Kremlin intensifies hybrid warfare against the West.

Two undersea internet cables on the Baltic Sea bed have been disrupted, sparking warnings of potential interference with critical infrastructure. Telecommunications companies in the region are investigating the incidents, which occurred amid heightened concerns over Russian activities in the area.

A communications cable between Lithuania and Sweden was severed on Sunday morning around 10:00 a.m. local time, according to Telia Lithuania. Monitoring systems detected the disruption, which was attributed to physical damage, confirmed Telia Lithuania spokesperson Audrius Stasiulaitis. "This was not caused by equipment failure but by physical damage to the fiber optic cable," he stated.

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Separately, a cable connecting Finland and Germany was also damaged. Operated by the Finnish state-controlled company Cinia, the C-Lion cable is the only direct link of its kind between Finland and Central Europe. Spanning nearly 1,200 kilometers (730 miles), the cable is vital infrastructure alongside gas pipelines and power connections.

The disruptions coincide with Sweden and Finland distributing updated guidance to citizens on preparing for wartime scenarios, including communication outages and power cuts, according to international media reports. Both nations recently joined NATO in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The affected sections of the Lithuanian-Swedish and Finnish-German cables are approximately 60 to 65 miles apart, which suggests that both were part of the same sabotage operation. While the exact cause of the C-Lion disruption remains unclear, Cinia’s CEO Ari-Jussi Knaapila spoke of external interference, noting that the sudden outage implied deliberate action.

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In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Finland and Germany expressed deep concern over the severed C-Lion cable, pointing to the possibility of “hybrid warfare.” They emphasized the need for thorough investigations, stating,

“Our European security is under threat not only from Russia’s war of aggression but also from hybrid operations by malicious actors.”

These incidents come amid warnings from the U.S. about increased Russian military activity near undersea cables. U.S. officials told CNN in September that Russia might be planning sabotage operations targeting critical infrastructure.

Earlier this year, a joint investigation by Nordic public broadcasters reported a fleet of suspected Russian spy ships operating in the region, potentially aimed at sabotaging underwater cables and wind farms.

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While the full impact of the C-Lion disruption is unclear, redundancy in data routing through multiple cables mitigates the risk of widespread outages. Cinia has readied a repair vessel but estimates repairs could take 5–15 days.

The Lithuanian-Swedish cable, handled by Swedish telecommunications company Arelion, was also a critical link, managing around one-third of Lithuania’s internet traffic. Although capacity has since been restored, repair efforts are ongoing, with completion dependent on weather conditions.

Both incidents are being closely monitored by the Scandinavian and Baltic authorities. It is not the first time undersea cables are targeted as Russia is searching for vulnerabilities in an era of heightened geopolitical tensions.

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In early 2024, a telecom link between Estonia and Finland was damaged as a result of “foreign military activity” in the Baltic Sea. Russia was named as the potential suspect but the findings of a joint investigation by the two countries were not made public.

Last year, a senior NATO official warned that Russia was mapping out E.U. and U.S. undersea infrastructure for future strikes. This way the Kremlin is trying to make the West drop their sanctions against Russia. 

More recently, European security forces found ignitable devices in DHL parcels stored in Germany before being delivered by air to the United States and Canada.

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