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.

Sweden is investigating damage to a data cable linked to Latvia, the latest breach in the Baltic Sea region where European authorities are on high alert.

A subsea cable connecting Latvia to Sweden’s Gotland island is the latest cable to be damaged in the Baltic Sea. Owned by Latvia’s State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC), the cable’s Ventspils–Gotland segment was damaged early on January 26, at depths of 100m.

Swedish authorities have seized a ship suspected of damaging a data cable running under the Baltic Sea to Latvia. Prosecutors said an initial investigation pointed to sabotage, and an inquiry has been launched involving Sweden's police,

A Bulgarian shipping company on Monday denied that one of its ships had intentionally damaged an underwater fiber optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland.

The Nordic country has opened an investigation into the damage, just weeks after NATO stepped up its military presence in the area following a series of similar incidents.

Nato countries have stepped up patrols to protect critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, which is bordered by eight countries, and other waters. A Royal Navy submarine was ordered to surface last November close to a suspected Russian spy ship which was loitering over undersea infrastructure in UK waters.

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