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,

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.

EU sanctions and new US measures have led to a decline in Russian oil shipments via the Baltic Sea, impacting the shadow fleet and raising concerns about the condition of vessels operating in the region.

"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,