Amid a series of incidents that have damaged critical cables in the Baltic Sea, intelligence services in the U.S. and Europe are increasingly convinced that they were caused by accidents, according to a report by the Washington Post on Jan.

An emerging consensus among U.S. and European security services holds that accidents were the cause of damage to Baltic seabed energy and communications lines.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says the alliance is launching a new mission to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea region

Estonian naval ships are taking part in stepped-up patrols in the Baltic Sea by NATO countries after undersea power and communications cables have been damaged in recent months.

NATO warships began patrolling the Baltic Sea this week. Some of the ships are anchored in Tallinn's Mine Harbor, ERR reports. Warships have begun patrolling as part of the Baltic Guard program. Three NATO ships anchored in Tallinn.