Finland's Defence Command warns that Russia is likely to continue attempts to damage undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, citing a notable rise in outages to power, telecom and pipeline links since 2022. Finnish authorities detained a cargo vessel on New Year's Eve on suspicion of sabotaging an undersea telecom cable. NATO has bolstered naval and air patrols in the region, while Finland's intelligence chief says there is no definitive proof linking a state actor to the incidents. The review also notes increased suspicious activity around military exercises on land, including drone sightings.
Finland Warns Russia Likely To Continue Attacks On Baltic Undersea Infrastructure
Seized vessel Fitburg rests in harbour in Kirkkonummi, Finland, December 31, 2025. Roni Rekomaa/Lehtikuva/via REUTERS
Finland's Defence Command has warned in its annual military intelligence review that Russia will "likely persist in its ambitions to damage the undersea infrastructure of the Baltic Sea," raising concerns across the region.
The Baltic Sea has been on heightened alert following a series of outages to power cables, telecommunications links and gas pipelines since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The most recent related event occurred on New Year's Eve, when Finnish authorities detained a cargo vessel en route from Russia to Israel on suspicion of sabotaging an undersea telecoms cable.
NATO has responded by increasing its presence in the area over the past year, deploying frigates, aircraft and naval drones to monitor and protect critical sea lines. These measures aim to deter further attacks and to improve surveillance of undersea and surface activity.
In an interview, Finland's Chief of Intelligence, Major General Pekka Turunen, said Moscow clearly has the capability to damage underwater infrastructure if it chose to, but investigators have not found a "smoking gun" proving Russia or another state actor is responsible for the recent incidents. "It is unusual that this (so many incidents) occurs," Turunen said, noting the number of events rose markedly in 2023 compared with earlier years. "The change is real."
Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement and staged drills last year to practice defending against what it described as "underwater saboteurs" in the Baltic Sea. Finland's defence review also documents a rise in suspicious security-related incidents on land around military personnel and exercises. The report suggests this trend is "most likely related to increased vigilance and a lower threshold of reporting," while acknowledging that some incidents reflect genuine intelligence-gathering aimed at national defence.
Turunen said some of the land incidents involved drones and sightings of people near military facilities or exercises but declined to provide further details. The Defence Command emphasizes continued monitoring and cooperation with allies to protect maritime infrastructure and national security.
Reporting: Anne Kauranen in Helsinki. Editing: Hugh Lawson.
Help us improve.
