NATO is launching a new mission to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea region after a string of incidents that have heightened concerns about possible Russian activities, the alliance’s leader said.

The strategy follows a series of suspected sabotage attacks on telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea in recent months carried out by a fleet of tankers and vessels linked to Russia.

NATO on Tuesday launched operation Baltic Sentry to deter further attempts to damage critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. Secretary General Mark Rutte announced the operation on Tuesday in a joint press conference with Finland President Alexander Stubb and Estonia Prime Minister Kristen Michal at the Baltic Sea NATO Allies Summit held in Helsinki,

A senior Russian official has said that Moscow will counter any moves by Western military alliance NATO to dominate the Baltic Sea. Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told the Russian television channel Rossiya-24 on Friday that the Western alliance's decision to increase patrols around the Baltic was further proof of NATO's "desire to turn the Baltic Sea into a NATO lake.