After a series of suspected undersea cable cuttings, NATO has launched a new surveillance and deterrence mission to protect critical infrastructure under the Baltic Sea.

A Bulgarian shipping company on Monday denied that one of its ships had intentionally damaged an underwater fiber optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland.

Swedish authorities boarded a Maltese-flagged ship seized in connection with the latest breach of cables running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea to begin an investigation into the matter, the country's security police said on Monday.

The attacks come as Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania prepare to cut on February 8 their electricity links to Russia and Belarus.

The damage to the underwater fiber-optic cable in the Baltic Sea suggests that the Russians could have mastered a new type of aggression toward European nations, which is the "anchor attack". — Ukrinform.

The Swedish Security Service arrested a vessel suspected of major sabotage as part of an investigation. Another submarine cable was damaged in the Baltic Sea, according to the Swedish Prosecutor's Office.

Swedish authorities have seized a ship suspected of damaging a data cable running under the Baltic Sea to Latvia. The Vezhen - a Maltese-flagged ship - is now anchored outside the Swedish port of Karlskrona.

Russia has condemned the Western alliance for ramping up its naval presence in the so-called 'NATO lake' after alleged sabotage by Moscow-linked vessels.

Several undersea cables running under the surface of the Baltic Sea have been damaged in suspected sabotage incidents in recent months.

An undersea fiber optic cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged on Sunday, likely as a result of external influence, Latvia said, triggering an investigation by local and NATO maritime forces in the Baltic Sea.

Latvia on Sunday said it had sent a warship to investigate the latest apparent act of sabotage in the Baltic, as Sweden reported at least one undersea optic fibre cable linking the two countries had been damaged.