Swedish NATO forces may be allowed to protect Estonian cable

Published December 27, 2024 at 10:09 AM

Domestic. Estonian Defense Forces have launched an operation to protect the Estlink 1 submarine cable, which connects the country's electricity grid with Finland. There is now talk that Swedish soldiers may be called in.

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The Estonian operation comes after the Estlink 2 power cable was damaged, which caused hysteria and concerns about sabotage.

The patrol boat Raju has now been sent out to monitor the cable, and Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur emphasizes the importance of acting quickly:

– This is to make sure that nothing happens there and to ensure that our critical connection with Finland remains operational, Pevkur said on Estonian radio on Friday.

The Estonian government has also contacted Finland and NATO to get support in the operation. Pevkur is open to the possibility of Swedish forces being involved.

– Speed ​​is important. If NATO and the Chief of Defense agree, a solution could, for example, be an operation with Swedish forces. But it could also be German or Polish or someone else. Through bilateral relations, we can find faster solutions than waiting for NATO as a whole, says Pevkur according to SVT Nyheter.

The incident with Estlink 2 is suspected to have been caused by the oil tanker Eagle S, whose anchor is believed to have destroyed the cable. Finnish authorities suspect that the ship is part of the so-called Russian shadow fleet, which is used to circumvent Western sanctions.