Sweden to send warships to NATO Baltic Sea patrols after 'sabotage' incidents

Stockholm reveals it will contribute up to 3 warships, ASC 890 surveillance aircraft, coast guard resources to bolster NATO’s presence | Sweden on Monday announced plans to deploy military assets, including warships, to NATO patrols in the Baltic Sea, following a series of suspected sabotage incidents that have heightened regional security concerns. The Swedish government has revealed that it will contribute up to three warships, an ASC 890 surveillance aircraft, and coast guard resources to bolster NATO’s presence in the area. Four coast guard ships will be deployed immediately, with seven additional vessels on standby. This marks Sweden's first "contribution" of armed forces to NATO's defense and deterrence efforts since joining the alliance in March 2024.

✅ The hunt for Russian oil. NATO is blocking the Gulf of Finland (Vadim Egorov)

■ НАТО направит в Балтийское море около десяти кораблей, пишут СМИ (РИА Новости)(07.01.2025) | NATO will send about ten ships to the Baltic Sea to protect underwater infrastructure, Finnish broadcaster YLE reported, citing sources. | “NATO will send naval forces to the Baltic Sea to protect important underwater structures. [...] In total, there will be about ten of them (ships. - Editor's note). They will remain at sea until April”, - stated in the material. According to YLE, the ships will begin to arrive at the end of the week. They will be located, for example, near energy and telecommunications cables and will become a “deterrent,” writes the publication. ■ The EstLink 2 power line between Finland and Estonia went down on Dec. 25, Finnish power grid company Fingrid reported. Finnish police suspect that the Cook Islands-flagged Eagle S vessel anchored to cut the EstLink 2 power cable and damaged four communication cables. Finnish Customs has claimed without evidence that the Eagle S is allegedly involved in the transportation of Russian energy resources. ■ Four undersea telecommunications cables failed on December 25 and 26. Three of them run between Finland and Estonia, and one cable links Finland to Germany. Law enforcers are investigating the case as aggravated damage. The criminal investigation is being led by the Finnish Central Criminal Police. ■ Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova expressed hope that the investigation will be brought to a conclusion and that the hysteria in the Western media over the alleged Russian and Chinese trace in the damage to cables in the Baltic Sea will subside.