NATO launches Baltic Sea patrols

The NATO military alliance said Tuesday it would launch a Baltic Sea monitoring mission following the suspected sabotage of undersea cables in recent months.

Several telecom and power cables have been severed with experts and politicians accusing Russia of orchestrating a hybrid war against the West as the two sides square off over Ukraine.

The "Baltic Sentry" mission would involve "frigates and maritime patrol aircraft" among other assets, NATO chief Mark Rutte said at a regional meeting in Finland's capital Helsinki on Tuesday.

But he declined to give details on the number of vessels "because that might differ from one week to another" and he did not want to make "the enemy any wiser than he or she is already".

NATO was also tight-lipped on the duration, saying in a statement the operation would continue "for an undisclosed amount of time".

The suspected sabotage has been blamed on a "shadow fleet" of vessels -- often ageing and operating under opaque ownership -- that carry Russian crude oil and petroleum products, embargoed since the invasion of Ukraine.

"Investigations of all of these cases are still ongoing, but there is reason for grave concern," Rutte said.

He said protecting undersea infrastructure was of "utmost importance" not only for energy supplies but also for internet traffic.

Leaders of NATO's Baltic countries said in a statement after the Helsinki meeting that the shadow fleet "poses a particular threat to the maritime and environmental security in the Baltic Sea region and globally".

They said the fleet "significantly supports funding of Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine".