Intelligence officials in the U.S. and Europe have suggested that recent incidents damaging critical cables in the Baltic Sea were accidental, according to a Washington Post report. Western geostrategic self-deception has overly emphasized fears of escalation and cornering Russia.

Henna Virkkunen, Vice President of the European Commission, warned that the EU should prepare for the worst-case scenario due to the Russian shadow fleet's destruction of infrastructure. Virkkunen and Szłapka participated in a debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg dedicated to "sabotage by the Russian shadow fleet,

Amid a series of incidents that have damaged critical cables in the Baltic Sea, intelligence services in the U.S. and Europe are increasingly convinced that they were caused by accidents, according to a report by the Washington Post on Jan.

Crew on board an oil tanker accused of sabotaging undersea power and communications cables in the Baltic Sea were poised to cut other cables and pipelines when Finnish authorities boarded the vessel last month,

Germany is working to secure a drifting Russian oil tanker, believed to be part of Moscow’s “shadow fleet” used to fund its war in Ukraine, after it lost control in the Baltic Sea.

An oil tanker believed to be part of Russia’s efforts to evade sanctions went adrift and had to be towed by a German tugboat Friday in what Germany's foreign minister called a danger to security and tourism in the Baltic Sea.

"In recent months, there have been several incidents related to the severing of cables at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Investigations into this matter do not, however, confirm Russia's involvement despite earlier suspicions,