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.

NATO ships will start guarding critical locations in the Baltic Sea later this week, Finnish public broadcaster YLE reported on Wednesday.

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 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.

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

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 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 begin operations to protect critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea by January 13, responding to a rise in incidents of damage to cables and pipelines, Yle reports. Approximately 10 ships will be deployed for this mission.