Swedish prosecutors announced Sunday night that they have opened a preliminary investigation into suspected aggravated “sabotage” and ordered the detention of a vessel in the Baltic Sea suspected of damaging an underwater fiber optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland earlier that day.

Latvian navy coordinating with Nato over incident which comes after military alliance boosted its presence in Baltic Sea in December

Earlier this month, NATO began a new mission dubbed "Baltic Sentry" which included frigates, maritime patrol aircraft and a fleet of naval drones to provide "enhanced surveillance and deterrence" in the Baltic Sea which the transatlantic alliance says is to protect undersea cables and pipelines.

Sunday's rupture follows a string of incidents that have heightened fears of Russian sabotage and spying in the strategic region. View on euronews

Swedish authorities have launched a preliminary investigation into suspected sabotage after damage was reported to an underwater fiber optic cable connecting Latvia to the Swedish island of Gotland. Prosecutors have ordered the detention of the vessel Vezhen,

Swedish authorities investigate a vessel suspected of damaging an undersea cable in the Baltic Sea, involving multiple agencies in the inquiry.

The Swedish coast guard seized a Bulgarian ship after a fibre-optic cable under the Baltic Sea linking Sweden to Latvia was damaged, officials said on Monday. The damage to the cable occurred in Swedish territorial waters at a depth of at least 50 metres (164 feet),

Swedish authorities boarded a Maltese-flagged ship seized in connection with the latest breach of cables running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea to begin an investigation into the matter, the country's security police said on Monday.

Swedish authorities boarded a vessel suspected of being involved in an earlier underwater sabotage of cables in the Baltic Sea on Monday.