This heightened surveillance, both in the air and at sea, signals Nato’s intensified efforts to protect underwater infrastructure in the Baltic. The alliance is responding to a concerning rise in incidents involving damage to vital energy and data cables and pipelines.

A senior Russian official has said that Moscow will counter any moves by Western military alliance NATO to dominate the Baltic Sea. Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told the Russian television channel Rossiya-24 on Friday that the Western alliance's decision to increase patrols around the Baltic was further proof of NATO's "desire to turn the Baltic Sea into a NATO lake.