On Nov. 18, hours after two communication cables have been severed within the Baltic Sea, 30 NATO vessels and 4,000 army employees took to the identical physique of water for certainly one of northern Europe’s largest naval workout routines.
The 12-day ‘Freezing Winds’ drill was a part of a push to step up the transatlantic protection alliance’s safety of infrastructure in waters that carry 15% of world delivery site visitors and are seen as more and more weak to assault.
The Baltic Sea is bordered by eight NATO international locations and Russia. There have been no less than three incidents of potential sabotage to the 40-odd telecommunication cables and significant gasoline pipelines that run alongside its comparatively shallow seabed since 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.
