An undersea data cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged early on January 26, the latest in a series of similar incidents in the Baltic Sea in which critical seabed energy and communications lines are believed to have been severed by ships traveling to or from Russian ports.

The saying "it is very difficult to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if it is not there" is probably known to everyone. Although it seems that only the first part of this phrase has reached some Baltic countries.

Russian law enforcement officers appealed to the authorities of Latvia, where actor Arthur Smolyaninov allegedly lives ***, with a request to assist in the investigation of the criminal case initiated against him.

Earlier this month, NATO launched a new mission, “Baltic Sentry,” to enhance surveillance and deterrence in the Baltic Sea. The operation includes frigates, maritime patrol aircraft, and naval drones, with a focus on protecting undersea assets.

Latvia's prime minister says her government has reached out to Sweden and other Baltic Sea allies in NATO for assistance as it investigates the cause of damage to an underwater fiber-optic data cable running to Sweden.

The European Union has agreed to prolong for 6 months a raft of sanctions aimed at depriving Russia of funds to finance its war against Ukraine.

Several undersea cables running under the surface of the Baltic Sea have been damaged in suspected sabotage incidents in recent months.

Incidents damaging Europe’s undersea networks have become more frequent since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, raising suspicions they are the result of sabotage.

During the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 27 January 2025, ministers agreed to extend the EU sectoral sanctions against Russia, which are renewed every six months. Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže noted that the Council also decided to impose EU sanctions on three Russian military intelligence service officers for a cyberattack against Estonia.

With its powerful camera, the French Navy surveillance plane scouring the Baltic Sea zoomed in on a cargo ship plowing the waters below - closer, closer and closer still until the camera operator could make out details on the vessel’s front deck and smoke pouring from its chimney.

NATO is deploying eyes in the sky and on the Baltic Sea to protect cables and pipelines that stitch together the nine countries with Baltic shores.