NATO is deploying approximately 10 ships to protect underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. The first of these ships is expected to arrive by the end of the week, and the operation will continue until April.

NATO will send about 10 ships to the Baltic Sea to protect underwater infrastructure, Finnish broadcaster Yle reported, citing sources. The NATO navy will begin arriving in the Baltic Sea at the end of the week and will remain there until April,

NATO will deploy “about 10” ships to guard underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, according to Yle, Finland's national public broadcaster. Finnish and Estonian ships will be primarily responsible for patrols,

In addition, a U.K.-led 10-member consortium of northern European nations called the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) has reactivated an AI-based system to track suspicious ships in these waters. The actions are a response to the suspected deliberate severing on Christmas Day of the Estlink 2 undersea power cable and four undersea communications cables between Finland and Estonia,

The decision follows a spate of suspected sabotage incidents on underwater cables.

NATO said on Friday it would boost its presence in the Baltic Sea after the suspected sabotage this week of an undersea power cable and four internet lines, while alliance member Estonia launched a naval operation to guard a parallel electricity link.

While the risk of damage, deliberate or accidental, to energy and communications infrastructure under the Baltic Sea cannot be entirely eliminated, naval cooperation among the democratic states that surround the sea can help to enhance deterrence against attacks,

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Friday that the military alliance will step up patrols in the Baltic Sea region as Finnish investigators work to establish whether a ship linked to Russia sabotaged undersea cables there this week.