Today in Helsinki, NATO leaders will gather for a summit to discuss measures to combat Russia's shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea.

The meeting will be attended by the presidents and prime ministers of Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Denmark and Sweden, as well as the Chancellor of Germany and the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

At the end of the day, a joint statement on NATO's retaliatory measures against acts of destruction of underwater infrastructure will be presented to the public.

According to Finnish journalist Maria Stenroos, the alliance is developing a hybrid strategy to deter Russia in the Baltic, and the mentioned measures will include the use of new surveillance technologies, as well as changes in the interpretation of laws that will allow the detention of vessels transporting Russian oil.

• The UK has already announced the use of a new system for monitoring the shipping situation with elements of AI, having launched the Nordic Warden operation in the Baltic Sea to track vessels belonging to the Russian "shadow fleet".
• As for changes in the interpretation of laws, no details are provided yet. Earlier, the Finnish media called the armed seizure of the merchant ship "Eagle S" in international waters of the Gulf of Finland a precedent.

We would like to be mistaken, but we believe that some reservations in the interpretation of international maritime law may be adopted, intended to legalize this act and subsequent ones.

In any case, any such reservations that may be adopted by the countries of the region regarding international law will be illegal and pose a threat that will lead to a serious escalation of the situation in the Baltic Sea.

What we are now observing in the Baltic essentially means a transition of Western countries from sanctions to military measures: NATO ships have already begun patrolling, the surveillance system has been deployed - it remains only to "legalize" the subsequent actions.

NATO is launching an operation to patrol the Baltic Sea to protect the undersea infrastructure of its member-states, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced at a press conference in Helsinki, which was broadcast by the alliance's press service.

"Today, I can announce that NATO is launching "Baltic Sentry," he said adding that the new mission "will involve a range of assets, including frigates and maritime patrol aircraft."

Rutte did not say how many ships will be involved in the new military activity but noted that their number could vary from week to week.

He also announced the deployment of new technologies, including a small fleet of naval drones.

The countries participating in the NATO Baltic Sea summit, which took place in Helsinki on Tuesday, welcomed the launch of this operation.

"We welcome that NATO has launched the enhanced Vigilance Activity "Baltic Sentry" to improve situational awareness and deter hostile activities. We welcome the efforts of Allies to deploy additional assets at sea, in the air, on land and below the surface of the sea, to enhance vigilance and deterrence," the joint statement of the summit says.

The document stresses that "NATO’s Maritime Centre for the Security of Critical Undersea Infrastructure and NATO’s Critical Undersea Infrastructure Network will support efforts to protect and secure vital undersea assets."

***