A submarine cable was damaged in the Baltic Sea, the fourth case reported by the Nordic countries in the past two months. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasised, "The resilience and security of our infrastructure is a top priority.

The Arelion submarine cable, which connects the Swedish island of Gotland to Lithuania, and the C-Lion 1 submarine communications cable that runs between Finland's capital Helsinki and the German city of Rostock were also damaged in mid-November near Sweden's territorial waters.

Speaking ahead of a NATO leaders' meeting in Helsinki, the German chancellor urged those countries to coordinate and act swiftly in the Baltic Sea region.

The Baltic Sea operation in the region bordering Russia comes as European fears of sabotage mount after a string of disruptions to underwater cables.

The move marks yet another step in the systematic military encircling of Russia by the US-led military alliance, which continues to back the far-right Ukrainian regime in a war aimed at inflicting a strategic defeat on Moscow and subjugating its territory to semi-colonial status.

NATO is launching a new mission to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea region after a string of incidents that have heightened fears of