there A new mystery in the Baltic SeaOne year after the sabotage of Nord Stream. Gas pipeline and underwater communications cable Connecting Finland and Estonia It was damaged on Sunday, and according to Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, “it was most likely caused by external activity.” During a press conference held on Tuesday regarding A “A worrying change in the security situation in Finland”The government spoke of a deliberate act, hinting at the possibility of an act of sabotage. And the suspicions of the authorities and the Helsinki army, according to the information collected by the newspaper Iltalehti, will fall on Russia. President Niinistö spoke about this with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who did so Ensuring support in NATO investigationsOf which Helsinki has been a member since April and Tallinn since 2004.
The Balticconnector pipeline has been in operation since December 2019, running 77 kilometers under the Baltic Sea between Enko, Finland, and Paldiski, Estonia, and also supplies Latvia and Lithuania. It was closed on Sunday morning as a precaution after a gas leak was discovered In the Gulf of Finland, whose waters also wash Russia and reach the port of St. Petersburg. The pressure in the pipeline dropped rapidly around 2 a.mAnd this – explained to Reuters An anonymous local official with direct knowledge of the incident “suggests it may not be a simple flaw.” According to the Finnish operator Gasgrid The repair will likely take months. “The cause has not yet been determined, and the joint investigation between Finland and Estonia is ongoing,” President Niinisto said.
Finnish police are working and still verifying the extent of the damage. But its dimensions indicate a deliberate act Which requires specialized knowledge. “Such work cannot be done by an ordinary person,” inspector Timo Kilpäiläinen explained to reporters. Prime Minister Petri Orbo described the situation as “worrying”.However, Finland’s electricity supply remains stable and the damage to the communications cable had no impact on connectivity in the country. “It is still too early to understand who or what caused the damage.”, appointed Prime Minister in office since June. However, according to a Finnish Defense Forces spokesperson, no military threats towards the country have been identified.