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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a joint press conference at the summit of the Baltic Sea NATO countries at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, on Jan. 14, 2025.
NATO and Ukraine prep for Trump
Like everyone else, NATO and Ukraine are preparing for the arrival of Donald Trump and the expectation the incoming president will push for a ceasefire in Ukraine’s nearly three-year war with Russian invaders. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced on Tuesday that the alliance will dispatch naval drones, submarines, ships, and aircraft to patrol the Baltic Sea toprevent Russia from committing acts of sabotage there. NATO officials suspect Russia has deliberately damaged undersea pipelines and data cables in recent months. The mission will be called “Baltic Sentry.”
Also on Tuesday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said he and France’s President Emmanuel Macron have continued to discuss the possibility thatWestern troops might be deployed to Ukraine to protect any peace deal his government might sign with Russia – though Zelensky tied this possibility with a request for more clarity on when Ukraine can join the European Union and NATO. This announcement came just before Zelensky welcomed German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius for an official visit to Kyiv.
For now, the war grinds on. A Ukrainian security official said Tuesday that Ukrainian drones had carried outsuccessful overnight attacks on energy and military sites in central Russia. Russian officials say these attacks will “not go unanswered.”
Ukraine’s Air Defense Forces claimed it had shot down 58 Russian drones overnight, including near Kyiv.
A view of the anchor of the Chinese ship, the bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, in the sea of Kattegat, near the City of Grenaa in Jutland, Denmark, on Nov. 20, 2024.
Sweden wants to inspect a suspicious Chinese ship
A year ago, you’ll recall that another Chinese-flagged vesseldragged an anchor that damaged an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia.
This latest Chinese vessel is now anchored in international waters between Sweden and Denmark, and Swedish authorities, without leveling any accusation, have requested that the ship enter Swedish waters and welcome inspectors on board to investigate. It remains unclear whether the Chinese ship will comply.
This episode comes at a time of heightened alert for Russian sabotage attacks on European infrastructure in response to EU support for Ukraine. In particular, Russian involvement is suspected in a number of fires and mail bombs across the continent.
Model of natural gas pipeline and Finland flag, July 18, 2022.
Another Baltic pipeline whodunnit!
NATO on Wednesday pledged a “determined” response if recent damage to a critical pipeline linking two of its members is found to have been deliberate.
Earlier this week, the Balticconnector undersea gas and data pipeline between Finland and Estonia suffered interruptions in what local authorities suggested was an intentional attack.
The 100-mile-long pipeline, which traverses the Baltic Sea, opened in 2019 to better integrate Baltic energy markets. It can send gas in either direction between Finland and Estonia depending on their needs.
Finland is NATO’s newest member, having joined the defense alliance in April. The country halted Russian gas imports after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, making the Balticconnector its only source of the fuel, which accounts for about 5% of Finland’s total energy mix.
Investigators are reviewing recent ship activity in the region. Russia on Wednesday mused that it was “disturbed” by the incident. If a state actor is suspected, NATO will have to determine a response that is firm but proportionate.
The incident comes, of course, barely a year after the apparent sabotage of the Russia-Germany Nord Stream gas pipeline at a Baltic Sea location about 500 miles southwest of the Balticcoonnector. That mystery remains unsolved.