Four other telecommunications cables between Finland and Estonia and between Finland and Germany were also damaged.
“We’ve decided to send our navy close to Estlink 1 to defend and secure our energy connection with Finland,” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said in a post on X.
Speaking on a morning local radio show, Pevkur said he had proposed a joint patrol with Finland.
“Not just with Finland, but with all of our allies, really. The Finns are discussing this today, and I believe they will join us. Additionally, we agreed yesterday that NATO will engage on a military level,” he said.
The damaging of Estlink 2 is the latest incident in the Baltic Sea involving the breaking of undersea infrastructure.
“Three cases in one year cannot be a coincidence,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in a press conference on Friday.
Stubb said that NATO’s presence in the area must be increased.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he had spoken to both Stubb and Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal.
“#NATO will enhance its military presence in the Baltic Sea,” he said in a post on X.
The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that Russia’s shadow fleet “threatens security and the environment, while funding Russia’s war budget.”
“We will propose further measures, including sanctions, to target this fleet,” she added on X, calling for the strengthening of cooperation in protecting undersea cables.
