NATO is planning to bolster its presence in the Baltic Sea after the gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was damaged, as reported by the German news website n-tv.de.
These enhanced measures include additional surveillance and reconnaissance flights, as well as the deployment of a fleet of mine-clearing vessels, as announced by the alliance via X (formerly Twitter).
Finnish authorities have pointed out that the issues with the gas pipeline between Estonia and Finland don’t appear to be the result of an explosion, as reported by the German news platform tagesschau.de. According to Risto Lohi, a representative of the police, the damage seems to have been caused by mechanical forces rather than an explosion. However, Lohi emphasized that, despite the identification of a mechanical impact, “nothing is ruled out” when it comes to the exact cause of the leak. Authorities have refrained from speculating on the possible nature of the force at play.
Helsinki had stated that the damage to the pipeline, known as Balticconnector, is highly likely the result of “external impact.” Finnish President Sauli Niinistö stated that it is probable that both the gas pipeline and the telecommunications cable were damaged due to external influence.
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