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

The meeting, co-organized by Finland and Estonia, will focus on enhancing NATO's presence in the Baltic Sea and responding to risks posed by Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, a group of tankers allegedly used for sanction evasion and espionage.

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,

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.

NATO will strengthen its presence in the Baltic Sea following the outage of the Estlink 2 submarine power cable, Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Friday after speaking to Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

General Mark Rutte says the military alliance will step up patrols in the Baltic Sea area as Finnish investigators work to establish whether a ship linked to Russia sabotaged undersea cables there this week.

NATO is dispatching approximately 10 ships to safeguard underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. The initial ships are expected to arrive by the end of the week, and the operation is expected to continue until April.

NATO had announced on December 30 that it was bolstering its Baltic Sea presence. NATO ships cannot prevent vessels moving through international waters, according to YLE. The Brit

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.