General Mark Rutte says the military alliance will step up patrols in the Baltic Sea area as Finnish investigators work to establish whether a ship linked to Russia sabotaged undersea cables there this week.

The meeting, co-organized by Finland and Estonia, will focus on enhancing NATO's presence in the Baltic Sea and responding to risks posed by Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, a group of tankers allegedly used for sanction evasion and espionage.

NATO is dispatching approximately 10 ships to safeguard underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. The initial ships are expected to arrive by the end of the week, and the operation is expected to continue until April.

NATO is deploying approximately 10 ships to protect underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. The first of these ships is expected to arrive by the end of the week, and the operation will continue until April.

A fleet of up to 10 NATO vessels will guard the infrastructure under the Baltic Sea until April, the Finnish broadcaster YLE reported on Jan. 7 after several cables were cut in suspected sabotage.

NATO will begin operations to protect critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea by January 13, responding to a rise in incidents of damage to cables and pipelines, Yle reports. Approximately 10 ships will be deployed for this mission.

NATO will begin a large-scale operation to protect critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea at the end of this week. The alliance is sending up to ten ships for the mission, Yle reports. According to the news agency,