Unclear about sabotage: Support cable in Europe and the USA cuts

Unclear about sabotage: Support cable in Europe and the USA cuts

The investigators are currently trying to find out how sabotageakt lead into the field of obvious “accidents”.

The affected cables and their meaning

The two cables, the BCS East-West, which connects Lithuania with Sweden, and C-Lion1, which Finland couples with Germany, were disrupted on Sunday and Monday. The consequences of these disorders can have a significant impact on communication and data security in the region.

official reactions and suspicions

European leadership figures quickly expressed their suspicion. The German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said: "Nobody believes that these cables were accidentally cut." In a joint explanation emphasize the foreign ministers of Finland and Germany about the incident and topic Possibility that it is "hybrid warfare", whereby they specially mentioned Russia.

The background of the allegations

This assessment is not unfounded. Russia is accused of leading a hybrid warfare against Europe after a number of suspicious incidents, arson attacks, explosions and other sabotage files in several European countries have been associated with Moscow. The disorders of the cables occurred just a few weeks after a warning from the USA that moskau" Unterseeisen infrastructures could attack . This was followed by months of suspicious movements of Russian ships in European waters and a significant reinforcement of a secret Russian naval unit commissioned to examine the sea floor.

First assessments and possible causes

However, on Tuesday, two US officials who are familiar with the initial assessment of the incident announced that the damage is not intentionally regarded by Russia or another nation. Rather, the two officials believe that he was probably caused by handling an anchor from a passing ship. Such accidents have occurred earlier, but not in such a faster episode as in the two incidents on Sunday and Monday.

reactions from Russia and European investigations

On Wednesday, the Kremlin rejected the "absurd" suggestions of being involved in these incidents and stated that it was "absurd to accuse Russia without any evidence of anything." Nevertheless, law enforcement authorities in Sweden and Finland indicated that they intentionally see the damage. The Swedish public prosecutor announced on Tuesday to initiate a preliminary investigation for alleged sabotage acts. On Wednesday, the Finnish National Investigation Office announced that it would open criminal proceedings for serious disruption and serious interference with communication.

The suspicious ship Yi Peng 3

A certain ship has aroused the interest of the authorities and online investigators. The ship Yi Peng 3, which is driving under Chinese flag, was spotted near the cable cuts. The bulk carrier ship had started the Russian port of Vust-Luga and remained there for several days. On Wednesday, the Danish armed forces confirmed that they were present in the area around the Yi Peng 3, but did not provide information on whether they were following the ship.

Chinese reaction to the allegations

When asked about the ship during a press conference on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Lin Jian, said that he was "not informed about the situation". He emphasized that China has always fully fulfilled its obligations as a flag state and demands from Chinese ships to strictly comply with the relevant laws and regulations. "

"We also attach great importance to the protection of the security of the infrastructures and work with the international community in order to actively promote the construction and protection of submarine cables and other global information infrastructure," he added.

CNN’s Allegra Goodwin, Jim Sciutto, Paul P. Murphy and Stephanie Halasz contributed to reporting.