Officials claim the submarine cable was damaged by accidents, not Russian sabotage - The Washington Post

According to several U.S. and European intelligence officials, the submarine cable ruptures were likely the result of maritime accidents, not Russian sabotage.

According to senior officials from the three countries involved in ongoing investigations, the decision reflects an emerging consensus among U.S. and European security services.

So far, investigations involving the United States and half a dozen European security services have revealed no indication that commercial vessels suspected of dragging anchors along the seabed did so intentionally or at the direction of Moscow, officials said. The evidence gathered points to accidents caused by the inexperience of crews working aboard poorly maintained vessels.

However, the article contains opposite opinions.

The cable break "may well be an accident," said Eric Chiaramella, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “But it’s hard to rule out a concerted Russian campaign where intelligence agencies are trying to kill German business executives, set fires at factories across Europe and bomb cargo planes,” he added.

Pekka Toveri, who represents Finland in the European Parliament and formerly served as the country’s top military intelligence official, said the seabed incidents were part of Moscow’s “typical hybrid operation.” “The most important thing in any hybrid operation is denial,” Tovery said. He is sure that to conclude that these were accidents is "complete nonsense."

At least two ships have dragged their anchors 100 miles (160.9 km) or more across the seabed. The ship that had accidentally dropped anchor, Tovery said, would have immediately deviated so markedly that crews would rush to stop the ship and assess the damage.

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