By Andrius Sytas
VILNIUS (Reuters) – An undersea fibre optic cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged on Sunday morning, likely as a result of “external influence”, Latvian public broadcaster LSM reported, citing the cable operator.
The Latvian Navy sent a patrol to inspect a vessel that possibly caused the damage and was coordinating with NATO, LSM reported.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina called an extraordinary government meeting.
The cable linked the Latvian town of Ventspils with Sweden’s Gotland island, Latvian State Radio and Television Centre said.
NATO boosted its presence in the Baltic Sea in late December, after a vessel damaged a power cable and four communications cables between Estonia and Finland.
In 2023 and 2024, vessels sailing to or from Russia damaged a gas pipeline and undersea cables in the Baltic Sea in what Western officials have said could be intentional sabotage.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; Editing by Christina Fincher and Frances Kerry)
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