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

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.

Sweden has 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.

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.

NATO officials are investigating damage discovered on Sunday to another undersea cable running across the Baltic Sea, this time a telecommunications link between NATO member states Sweden and Latvia.

NATO is launching a new mission to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea region after a string of incidents that have heightened concerns about possible Russian activities, the alliance’s leader said.

NATO countries will deploy frigates, patrol aircraft and naval drones in the Baltic Sea to help protect critical infrastructure and reserve the right to take action against ships suspected of posing a security threat,

Sweden’s Security Service has seized a vessel suspected of damaging a subsea data cable between Latvia and Sweden early on Sunday, the third such incident in the Baltic Sea in the past three months.