Finnish president says undersea gas and telecom cables damaged by ‘external activity’

Main AP Link

HELSINKI (AP) — Damage to an undersea gas pipeline and telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Estonia appears to have been caused by “external activity,” Finnish officials said Tuesday, adding that authorities were investigating.

Finnish and Estonian gas system operators on Sunday said they noted an unusual drop in pressure in the Balticconnector pipeline after which they shut down the gas flow.

The Finnish government on Tuesday said there was damage both to the gas pipeline and to a telecommunications cable between the two NATO countries.

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“According to a preliminary assessment, the observed damage could not have occurred as a result of normal use of the pipe or pressure fluctuations. It is likely that the damage is the result of external activity,” Orpo said.

Things are heating up in multiple places, and all roads seem to be leading to one nation. While there is no evidence as of yet to link any nation to this act of sabotage, it is coming on the heels of another explosion in that area that has been linked to Russian military operations - and that is Nord Stream.

Russian navy ship photographed near Nord Stream pipelines before blasts

A Russian navy vessel specialising in submarine operations was photographed near the sabotaged Nord Stream gas pipelines just prior to the mysterious September blasts, according to the Danish daily newspaper Information.

The newspaper said the submarine rescue ship SS-750 was photographed in the Baltic Sea four days before the still-unexplained explosions on the pipelines linking Russia to Germany. The ship carries a mini-submarine.

“The Danish military confirmed that 26 photos of the Russian vessel were taken from a Danish patrol boat in the zone located east of Bornholm on 22 September 2022,” Information said, adding the photos were classified.

SS-750 is a Russian military ship capable of deploying submersibles capable of carrying out underwater operations. They were seen and photographed right above Nord Stream, only days before the explosion. The investigation is not complete, so we can't claim with absolute accuracy that it was the Russians, but photos would indicate they may have been.

And Nord Stream is not the only attack in the north. There is wide-spread evidence of Russian operations and sabotage in the North Sea, such as cutting communication cables and sabotaging wind farms.

Russia has a programme to sabotage wind farms and communication cables in the North Sea, according to new allegations.

The details come from a joint investigation by public broadcasters in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

It says Russia has a fleet of vessels disguised as fishing trawlers and research vessels in the North Sea.

They carry underwater surveillance equipment and are mapping key sites for possible sabotage.

This newest attack on underwater infrastructure would not be an isolated event, and it should not be treated as such.

Russia is at war. They are at war at this very moment, and they are operating as if they were at war. Who all they consider themselves to be at war with, we don't know yet, but we need to be prepared for anything.

Stalking the Seabed: How Russia Targets Critical Undersea Infrastructure

The recent disclosure of Russian naval activity in the vicinity of key maritime infrastructure in the North Sea including cables, windfarms and pipelines should not necessarily come as a surprise. Russia has spent a considerable amount of effort investing in capabilities that would allow it to pose a threat to European critical infrastructure, and has viewed this as an imperative since the Soviet era. An emphasis on demonstrating the ability to target economically vital assets can be found in Russian thinking on escalation management, which presumes – correctly or otherwise – that the ability to inflict economic harm represents a means of containing local conflicts on Russia’s periphery by deterring external intervention. In a conflict with NATO, damage to infrastructure at sea along with the targeting of infrastructure ashore would be a key part of Russia’s overall war effort, aimed at gradually eroding popular support in the West.

That last link is a really good read from May of this year. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Russia… Trump… Russia… Trump… Russia… Trump…

Any other dead horses you wanna beat… 🤣🤣🤣

originally posted by: SwissMarked
Russia… Trump… Russia… Trump… Russia… Trump…

Any other dead horses you wanna beat… 🤣🤣🤣

I like my life the way it is. I don't want any of my younger family members to get drafted to go fight an insane dictator.

If we all stand together against these obvious acts of aggression, maybe we can avoid what Russia may be planning for.

a reply to: Mahogany

I don't want any of my younger family members to get drafted

You're supporting the wrong party if you truly wish to avoid world war and the US draft.

Russia is not the one playing hardball and refusing peace negotiations, nor are they the ones funding both sides of the latest war with weapons meant for Ukraine.

a reply to: Mahogany

Things are heating up in multiple places, and all roads seem to be leading to one nation. 

Indeed!

originally posted by: SwissMarked
Russia… Trump… Russia… Trump… Russia… Trump…

Any other dead horses you wanna beat… 🤣🤣🤣

Ufo! Its aliens.

originally posted by: SwissMarked
Russia… Trump… Russia… Trump… Russia… Trump…

Any other dead horses you wanna beat… 🤣🤣🤣

Apparently AP is beating the dead horse as well and thought it important enough to report on today. But whatever.

On topic, it's too bad because that stuff probably isn't easy to repair and it puts those affected in an uncomfortable position with extra worry and insecurity, regardless of who or what is causing the damage.

a reply to: Mahogany

Russia would have just turned the gas off, why blow their own pipeline
Just so naive, just so docile

Look up Chevron, the US and the Niger gas pipeline from central Africa and then workout who sabotaged the Nordstream pipeline
Then you can work out why the Niger coup occurred

Russia isn’t the problem, stop think work it out

originally posted by: Raggedyman
a reply to: Mahogany

Russia would have just turned the gas off, why blow their own pipeline
Just so naive, just so docile

Look up Chevron, the US and the Niger gas pipeline from central Africa and then workout who sabotaged the Nordstream pipeline
Then you can work out why the Niger coup occurred

Russia isn’t the problem, stop think work it out

I don't know... reports of Russian research vessels and submarine rescue ships is damning. Russia is desperate.

Telecom cables are damaged all the time, it's the fact that you can reroute lots of data in a second that makes it work lots of it due to lazy ships captains who want to just finish the run a bit early so will drag sn anchor and cause a bit of chaos but by the time anyone gets to look at the problem the ship is well gone.

a reply to: Raggedyman

Baltic connertor gaspipe were not russian like nord stream is.. So get your facts right.

Edit to add balticconnector was new pipe line inaugurated 2019

originally posted by: LogicalGraphitti

originally posted by: Raggedyman
a reply to: Mahogany

Russia would have just turned the gas off, why blow their own pipeline
Just so naive, just so docile

Look up Chevron, the US and the Niger gas pipeline from central Africa and then workout who sabotaged the Nordstream pipeline
Then you can work out why the Niger coup occurred

Russia isn’t the problem, stop think work it out

I don't know... reports of Russian research vessels and submarine rescue ships is damning. Russia is desperate.

Unverifiable reports..... and no images released under FOIA... "trust us".... im Danish and dont trust our government or intelligence service