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Amid a series of incidents that have damaged critical cables in the Baltic Sea, intelligence services in the U.S. and Europe are increasingly convinced that they were caused by accidents, according to a report by the Washington Post on Jan. 19. The incidents had raised fears that Russian shadow fleet vessels were intentionally sabotaging the energy and communication lines. As a result, NATO dispatched additional patrol ships to the area earlier this month. The Washington Post report cited senior officials from three countries involved in investigating the cause of the incidents, who said they found no evidence that the ships suspected of dragging anchors across the cables were directed by Moscow or that they damaged the cables intentionally. The officials instead noted that intercepted communications and classified intelligence pointed to maritime accidents as the likely cause. Russia, NATO countries, and the Baltic Sea Region. (Lisa Kukharska/The Kyiv Independent)The events had heightened tension between Russia and Europe, as Russian activities have been linked to intensifying hybrid warfare attacks across the continent, including cyberattacks, espionage, and election interference. Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that U.S. officials warned Russian President Vladimir Putin not to carry out plan plans to smuggle incendiary devices onto U.S.-bound cargo planes. Intelligence sources suspect Russia was behind similar cases last summer when packages mailed by individuals caught fire in warehouses in Germany and the U.K.Merkel highlights NATO’s role in supporting Ukraine, urges transatlantic unity, media reportsFormer German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that a united NATO, bolstered by strong U.S. leadership, is essential to counter Putin’s ambitions and safeguard Ukraine’s sovereignty, according to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
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