Finland Seizes Russian-Linked Ship Over Baltic Sea Cable Sabotage

• Finnish police seized cargo vessel "Fitburg" on Dec 31, suspecting sabotage of an undersea telecoms cable between Helsinki and Estonia.
• The ship, sailing from Russia to Israel, was allegedly dragging its anchor, damaging Elisa's cable; a second cable (Arelion's) also suffered an outage.
• 14 crew members from Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan were held; charges include aggravated disruption and sabotage.
• Incident raises concerns over increasing hybrid threats from Russia in the Baltic Sea region post-Ukraine war.
• Estonian President Alar Karis expressed hope the act was not deliberate, as NATO boosts its presence in the area.

Why It Matters: Finland seizes ship for suspected Baltic Sea cable sabotage, highlighting rising hybrid threat concerns.