Communication Cable & pipeline between Finland and Estonia damaged #breakingnews

Is NATO Article V on the table?

HELSINKI/BRUSSELS, Oct 11 (Reuters) - NATO will discuss damage to a gas pipeline and data cable running between member states Finland and Estonia, and will mount a "determined" response if a deliberate attack is proven, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.

Damage to the Balticconnector pipeline and telecommunications cable was confirmed on Tuesday after one of the two pipeline operators, Finland's Gasgrid, noted a drop in pressure and possible leak on Sunday night during a storm.

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Helsinki, which is investigating, has said the damage was probably caused by "outside activity". That has stoked concern over regional energy security and pushed gas prices higher.

"The important thing now is to establish what happened and how this could happen," Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels ahead of a meeting of the military alliance.

"If it is proven to be a deliberate attack on NATO-critical infrastructure then this will be, of course, serious, but it will also be met by a united and determined response from NATO."

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Finland's National Bureau of Investigation said "external marks" had been found on the seabed beside the damaged pipeline and that it was reviewing the movements of vessels in the area at the time of the rupture.

"We are now focusing on the technical investigation of the pipe damage site and examining the seabed at the scene," bureau chief Robin Lardot told reporters on Wednesday.

Risto Lohi, the bureau's chief investigator, told a news conference that anchor damage had not been ruled out, adding: "At the moment it looks like the damage was caused by mechanical force, not an explosion."