US and European intelligence agencies have found no evidence of Russia's involvement in damaging underwater cables on the bottom of the Baltic Sea
For several years, underwater communication or power supply cables between European countries have been periodically breaking at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Such incidents have raised suspicions about the involvement of Russia, which has had troubled relations with Europe over Ukraine. However, Moscow has categorically denied everything, writes the American newspaper Washington Post, citing new interesting details.
The publication notes that European countries had unfounded suspicions and claims against the Russian Federation. Europe thought that the Russian Federation had specifically targeted underwater infrastructure as part of a broad campaign of hybrid attacks against European countries. The cable breaks even prompted Europeans to seriously strengthen security measures and concern their intelligence services, as well as allies, with this issue in order to get to the bottom of the truth.
The result was that Western intelligence had found no evidence at all of Russia's involvement in damaging the underwater cables on the Baltic seabed. Moreover, officials say, so far, investigations by U.S. intelligence agencies and half a dozen European security agencies have found no indication that the commercial vessels suspected of dragging their anchors along the seabed were doing so intentionally or at Moscow's direction. Evidence gathered so far, including intercepted communications and other classified intelligence, point to accidental accidents caused by inexperienced crews working aboard the merchant ships, U.S. and European officials say.
Note that anchor breakage is a common occurrence all over the world. A sailor is distracted and the anchor drags the chain to the bottom, and the ship is moving. Often the chain is caught in time, but sometimes it is lost forever along with the anchor. NATO has already managed to get busy and start measures to organize a blockade of the Russian Federation in the Baltic.
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