Estonian government to meet as investigators probe interruption of undersea cable
Associated Press1 day
Undersea Power Cable Linking Finland and Estonia Hit by Outage, Finnish PM Says
Above: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks to reporters after a meeting with Petteri Orpo Prime Minister of Finland on July 14, 2023. Image copyright: Britta Pedersen/dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
The Facts
An undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia has been hit by an outage, prompting an investigation, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Wednesday.
Writing on the X (formerly Twitter) platform in his native language, Orpo said that power transmission through the Estlink-2 cable was interrupted on Wednesday afternoon, but added it did not affect his country's access to electricity.
The Spin
Narrative A
After falling out of operation for the majority of 2024, there are many possible explanations for this cable's shutdown. Although the possibility of sabotage has been floated, the world must wait for a thorough analysis and investigation before jumping to any conclusions. Whatever the case, the Finnish prime minister has been clear that his country remains unaffected.
Narrative B
While it's not yet clear whether this damage was even the result of sabotage, Russia (along with other nations) has undoubtedly adopted a 'gig economy' approach to the recruitment of saboteurs in recent months, all with the aim of disrupting, delaying, and degrading its enemies. Sabotage has historically never dealt a decisive blow, but hastened the weakening and decay of key infrastructure, as is the case here.