US allies accuse Russia of 'escalating hybrid activities' against NATO, EU nations after data cables severed

U.S. allies successful Europe allege Russia is "escalating hybrid activities" against NATO and EU nations pursuing the severing of 2 information cables successful the Baltic Sea. 

The declaration comes arsenic Moscow says Ukrainian forces person fired six U.S.-made missiles into Russian territory connected Tuesday. In the 2 days beforehand, the cables linking Finland to Germany and Sweden to Lithuania were slashed underwater, according to Reuters. 

"No 1 believes that these cables were chopped accidentally," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was quoted by Reuters arsenic saying Tuesday. "We besides person to assume, without knowing it yet, that it is sabotage." 

"If Russia does not halt committing acts of sabotage successful Europe, Warsaw volition adjacent the remainder of its consulates successful Poland," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski reportedly added. 

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The C-Lion1 telecommunications cablegram is seen being laid successful the Baltic Sea adjacent Helsinki, Finland, successful October 2015.   (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images)

The overseas ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom issued a associated connection saying that "Moscow’s escalating hybrid activities against NATO and EU countries are... unprecedented successful their assortment and scale, creating important information risks." 

However, the Tuesday connection did not straight blame Moscow for the cablegram damage. 

"To unrecorded up to this historical challenge, we are determined to basal agreed with our European and transatlantic partners to deliberation and enactment large connected European security," that connection besides said. "European countries indispensable play a inactive greater relation successful assuring our ain security, acting alongside our transatlantic and planetary partners." 

The Finnish state-controlled information services supplier Cinia said the severed information cablegram was detected Monday successful the C-Lion1 cablegram that runs astir 750 miles from the Finnish capital, Helsinki, to the German larboard metropolis of Rostock. 

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Germany and Finland accidental they are "deeply concerned" that an undersea telecommunications cablegram linking the countries has been severed. (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images)

The C-Lion1, commissioned successful 2016, is Finland’s lone information communications cablegram that runs from the Nordic state straight to cardinal Europe, according to Finnish nationalist broadcaster YLE. 

"A information cablegram betwixt Finland and Germany was damaged and work [was] chopped off. Swedish authorities are investigating arsenic the tract is successful Swedish waters," a elder European authoritative told Fox News. 

The overseas ministries of Finland and Germany said successful their ain associated connection that the harm comes astatine a clip erstwhile "our European information is not lone nether menace from Russia‘s war of aggression against Ukraine, but besides from hybrid warfare by malicious actors." 

The connection said the countries were investigating the incident, and that it was important that specified "critical infrastructure" beryllium safeguarded. 

Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin is shown here, has denied sabotaging infrastructure successful Europe, according to Reuters. (Gavriil Grigorov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

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"The information that specified an incidental instantly raises suspicions of intentional harm speaks volumes astir the volatility of our times," the 2 countries added. 

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom, Jennifer Griffin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.