NATO and its eight Baltic Sea allies say they are stepping up efforts to deter 'any attempts at sabotage' in the wake of a series of incidents that have damaged key undersea power and telecommunications cables.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says the alliance is launching a new mission to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea region

Estonian naval ships are taking part in stepped-up patrols in the Baltic Sea by NATO countries after undersea power and communications cables have been damaged in recent months.

NATO announced on Tuesday that it will beef up its patrol of the Baltic Sea in the light of past infrastructure damage to cables on the sea floor.

Sweden will increase its military presence in the Baltic Sea through the deployment of three warships and a radar reconnaissance aircraft in response to the suspected sabotage of several underwater cables,

Amid a series of incidents that have damaged critical cables in the Baltic Sea, intelligence services in the U.S. and Europe are increasingly convinced that accidents led to the incidents, according to a new report by the Washington Post on Jan.

"Ruptures of undersea cables that have rattled European security officials in recent months were likely the result of maritime accidents rather than Russian sabotage, according to several U.S. and European intelligence officials,

US and European intelligence agencies believe that the submarine cable breaks in the Baltic Sea were the result of maritime accidents, not Russian sabotage. This follows from the information currently available,