Nato has announced it will increase its military presence in the Baltic Sea. Estonia sent a patrol ship to protect the Estlink1 undersea cable after Russia was accused of sabotaging the main power connection in the Gulf of Finland.

A ship called Eagle S, suspected of damaging the Estlink 2 cable, was suspected by the crew of the Finnish Coast Guard to have boarded the oil tanker and guided it into Finnish waters.

According to the EU, the Eagle S was part of the “Russian shadow fleet” and the cable failure undersea is “the latest of a series of suspected attacks on critical infrastructure”.

Hanno Pevkur said that the Estonian Minister for Defence was confident that Finland would join the operation to secure any remaining cable.

According to the Estonian public radio, the Raju is responsible for “ensuring that there are no disruptions and that our vital connections with Finland are maintained”.

The Kremlin refused to comment on the damage caused to the cable. The Kremlin described the issue as “a very small one” and not something that should be left to the Russian presidency.

Mark Rutte said on social media that he had spoken to Alexander Stubb the President of Finland and that Nato would increase its presence in the Baltic. The alliance’s statement only stated that “Nato remains vigilant and is working to provide extra support”.

Both Finland and Estonia are members of NATO. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal stated on public television they would invoke Article 4 of the Nato Treaty, which requires consultations with any member states who feel threatened.

BNS reported him saying: “Our wish is that we receive Nato reinforcements, in the form of a fleet which would act as an effective dissuasive power. “

The Estonian electricity supply has been drastically reduced since the shutdown of Estlink 2 (a 170km (105 mile) link).

Fingrid is a Finnish cable company. Its initial assessment of the cable, made Thursday, indicated that repairs may last until July 2025.

Estlink 2 suffered damage in the Baltic Sea for the third consecutive time in less than one week.

Last month, two data cables were damaged: the Arelion cable that connected Gotland, a Swedish island, to Lithuania on November 17, and the C-Lion 1 connecting Helsinki, Finland’s capital, and Rostock, Germany’s port.

A separate Russian sabotage was committed by a Chinese ship named the Yi Peng 3. It is suspected that the anchor of the Yi Peng 3 had been dragged over the cables.

In October 2023, a Chinese ship will again rupture a subsea pipe between Finland and Estonia.

The Yi Peng 3 and Eagle S may be part of a shadow fleet, or a group of oil tanks, that Russia has been using to avoid the sanctions imposed by Western countries since it invaded Ukraine.

The EU has announced it is working on implementing measures, including sanctions against “Russia’s Shadow Fleet” which threatens security and the environment.

Last week, officials from Sweden Germany Finland and Denmark boarded the Chinese tanker that had been anchored for weeks in the Kattegat Strait, between Sweden and Denmark.

The Finnish authorities, on the other hand, reported that the Cook Islands Eagle S was boarded early Thursday morning, and then taken to the Finnish coast at Porkkala, across the Gulf of Finland from Tallinn.

Markku Hassinen stated at a recent press conference that, “our patrol boat traveled to the region and we were able to visually determine that the vessel’s mooring was missing.” “

The Estonian Prime minister sought to assure Estonians on Thursday that their electricity supply would be secure.

He said to reporters that both the main energy companies Elering Energia, and Eesti Energia have a number of backup and reserve power plants.

He said, however, it was impossible to protect every square metre of the seabed.