On 26 December, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas and the European Commission announced that they would be proposing sanctions against the Russian fleet following damage caused the previous day to underwater cables linking Estonia and Finland in the Baltic Sea by Eagle S, a vessel sailing under the flag of the Cook Islands, but which allegedly belongs to that fleet.
“We strongly condemn any deliberate destruction of Europe’s critical infrastructure. The suspected vessel is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which threatens security and the environment, while funding Russia’s war budget. We will propose further measures, including sanctions, to target this fleet”, stressed the High Representative and the Commission in a press release. The EU has already adopted sanctions against vessels in this fleet.
The High Representative and the Commission also announced that they would be stepping up their efforts to protect undersea cables, “including enhanced information exchange, new detection technologies, as well as [...] undersea repair capabilities, and international cooperation”.
For their part, the Allies have decided to strengthen NATO’s military presence in the Baltic Sea “in order to maintain vigilance, increase situational awareness, and deter future incidents”. They are also considering other measures to address threats to critical undersea infrastructure, in particular with the support of NATO’s Maritime Centre for Security of Critical Undersea Infrastructure. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)