Russia dismissed as "absurd" the assumptions that there is involvement in the damage to two fiber optic telecommunication cables in the Baltic Sea, reported "Reuters", quoted by News.bg.
European governments have expressed concerns about an escalation of hybrid attacks against Ukraine's Western allies. The incidents resulted in the disruption of a data cable between Finland and Germany, as well as another between Sweden and Lithuania. Although they did not directly accuse Russia, Germany, Poland and other countries suggest sabotage.
At a regular briefing on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:
"It is completely absurd to keep blaming Russia for everything without any reason."
Peskov also emphasized the lack of Western reaction regarding the explosions of the "Nord Stream" in September 2022, for which Moscow blames Ukraine and Western countries.
The cable incidents happened on Sunday and Monday, within less than 24 hours. The breaches are located in Sweden's exclusive economic zone. Swedish prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation on Tuesday, suspecting sabotage.
Sweden's Minister of Civil Defense Karl-Oscar Bolin announced that the country's armed forces and coast guard detected the movement of ships in the area of the damaged cables.
The Swedish Navy is assisting the police and prosecutors by deploying vessels to investigate and document the incident. According to representatives of the navy, the operation will last several days.