Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal will host a summit of Baltic rim NATO countries in Helsinki on 14 January 2025 to discuss the security of critical undersea infrastructure and Russia’s shadow fleet, ERR reports. Political leaders from all Baltic rim NATO countries, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and European Commission Vice-President Henna Virkkunen will attend the summit. Baltic News Network reports that NATO countries will deploy around ten warships to protect energy and data cables in the Baltic Sea against sabotage. Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur told ERR that the NATO ships would act as a deterrent, but would be ready to intervene if needed. He suggested that NATO members could conduct the monitoring mission on a rotational basis, ERR reported. Lithuania will also contribute to the mission, Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene announced, BNS reports. Earlier, the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force announced that it would increase monitoring of ship traffic in the Baltic Sea. Also, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have launched their own naval operations to protect critical undersea infrastructure.
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