The damage to a Baltic undersea cable was ‘purposeful,’ Swedish leader says but gives no details

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson says the damage done to an undersea telecoms cable between Sweden and Estonia was “purposeful,” but has declined to give any details. A spokesman for the Swedish Navy said that divers saw “seabed tracks nearby, but we don’t know if it’s deliberate or an accident.” Swedish authorities believe the damage to the telecoms cable, which was discovered earlier this month, occurred at the same time as damage to an undersea gas pipeline and telecom cable connecting Finland and Estonia. Last week, the Finns said the pipeline damage had been caused by “an external mechanical force” and not by an explosion.