An internet cable connecting Finland to Germany and another one between Lithuania and Sweden, both running under the Baltic Sea, were cut within 24 hours of one another. While accidental damage on undersea cables happens,

Germany’s defense minister said damage to two fiber-optic cables on the sea floor appeared deliberate, but a culprit was not known.

Two fiber-optic undersea internet cables connecting Scandinavia to mainland Europe were severed within 24 hours of one another. European officials suspect the cuts are a sign of sabotage.

Two data cables running along the Baltic seabed were cut in quick succession, government authorities and telecom companies said.

Authorities in Europe are investigating suspected sabotage to two undersea fiber optic cables, one connecting Finland and Germany and the other Sweden and Lithuania, and are monitoring a Chinese cargo ship that may have been involved.

European officials are looking toward Russia after two submarine internet cables in the Baltic Sea were suddenly disrupted in an apparent sabotage operation, just weeks after the United States warned that Moscow was likely to target critical undersea infrastructure.

Germany and Finland are investigating the deliberate severing of undersea data cables in the Baltic Sea, calling it a likely act of sabotage. Two cables—one connecting Finland to Germany and another linking Lithuania to Sweden—were damaged this week.