After a series of suspected undersea cable cuttings, NATO has launched a new surveillance and deterrence mission to protect critical infrastructure under the Baltic Sea.

Several undersea cables running under the surface of the Baltic Sea have been damaged in suspected sabotage incidents in recent months.

Another undersea cable has been broken in the Baltic Sea, this time between Swedish Gotland and Ventspils in Latvia. What do we know about the suspected sabotage?

An undersea fiber optic cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged on Sunday, likely as a result of external influence, Latvia said, triggering an investigation by local and NATO maritime forces in the Baltic Sea.

Swedish authorities have seized the Vezhen ship as part of an investigation into damage to Baltic Sea cables. Swedish authorities has boarded a Maltese-flagged ship, the Vezhen, as part of an investigation into the recent damage to an undersea cable in the Baltic Sea, the country’s security police confirmed.

Suspicions of further sabotage have surfaced following significant damage to an undersea fibre optic cable linking Sweden and Latvia.

Intelligence officials in the U.S. and Europe have suggested that recent incidents damaging critical cables in the Baltic Sea were accidental, according to a Washington Post report. Western geostrategic self-deception has overly emphasized fears of escalation and cornering Russia.

A senior Russian official has said that Moscow will counter any moves by Western military alliance NATO to dominate the Baltic Sea. Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told the Russian television channel Rossiya-24 on Friday that the Western alliance's decision to increase patrols around the Baltic was further proof of NATO's "desire to turn the Baltic Sea into a NATO lake.

The Swedish coast guard chased and intercepted a Bulgarian ship after a fibre-optic cable under the Baltic Sea linking Sweden to Latvia was damaged, its owner said on Monday. The Bulgarian vessel on Sunday "was chased by the Swedish coast guard with instructions for the ship to go into their territorial waters and it is now on anchor where an investigation

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa said Sunday that her government has reached out to Sweden and other Baltic Sea allies in NATO for assistance as it investigates the cause of damage to an underwater data cable running to Sweden.

The mission, dubbed Baltic Sentry, follows worry over increased Russian military activity near key undersea communication cables.