NATO finds no proof of Russia's involvement in destruction of cables in Baltic Sea
"No proof has been found that Moscow ordered or orchestrated the destruction," the newspaper writes, citing officials familiar with the investigations.
Meanwhile, Belgian Navy Commander Erik Kockx, who heads a group taking part in a NATO mission in the Baltic Sea, pointed out that it's hard to evaluate the practical effect of the bloc's increased presence in the region. "It's quite difficult to prove that our presence helps. It's hard to say that if we hadn't been there, something would have occurred," Kockx said.
On January 14, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced the launch of Mission Baltic Sentry, aimed at protecting underwater infrastructure such as power and data cables. The mission involves frigates and maritime patrol aircraft from NATO member states. Its launch came in response to the damage done to a subsea cable connecting Finland and Estonia on December 25, 2024.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Ya Libnan
a day ago
- Ya Libnan
Trump is burning bridges with allies, not 'Making America Great Again'
Trump Is Burning Bridges With Allies, Not Making America Great Again By Vlad Green, Op-Ed History has a way of repeating itself—especially when its painful lessons are ignored. Today, President Donald Trump is once again using tariffs as a weapon, punishing nations for political disagreements and attempting to strong-arm trade concessions with threats instead of negotiations. His approach may resonate with a narrow base at home, but it is fracturing long-standing alliances abroad and putting America's global leadership at risk. As he wraps himself in the flag of economic nationalism, Trump forgets—or ignores—that tariffs have consistently backfired throughout American history. One of the first cautionary tales comes from President William McKinley, a staunch protectionist who, in the 1890s, championed high tariffs as a tool to shield American industries. But as the economic and diplomatic backlash grew, McKinley began to regret his position. Before his assassination in 1901, he had changed course, calling for greater international cooperation and freer trade, recognizing that economic isolationism would only harm American prosperity. McKinley's lesson went unheeded three decades later when the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 plunged the world into economic chaos. Enacted just months after the 1929 stock market crash, the tariffs raised duties on over 20,000 imported goods and prompted retaliatory measures from U.S. trading partners. Instead of protecting American jobs, it worsened the Great Depression, slashed global trade, and deepened the suffering of millions. Fast forward to today, and we're seeing history dangerously echo itself. President Trump has turned tariffs into tools of intimidation. With no coherent trade strategy, he threatens Mexico one day, slaps tariffs on Europe the next, and targets Canada—America's closest neighbor and trusted ally—as if it were a rival state. He boasts about 'winning' trade wars, but the reality is rising costs for American consumers, unstable global markets, and fraying relationships with the very nations that stood by the U.S. through thick and thin. It's not just the economic consequences that are alarming. Trump's brand of economic nationalism is wrapped in authoritarian tactics. He surrounds himself with loyalists, fires anyone who questions his decisions, and demands obedience over debate. This is not how a democracy operates. This is not how a civilized world leader behaves. Instead, America under Trump increasingly resembles a transactional bully, not a principled partner. The irony is that Trump claims to be making America great again—yet he is isolating it from the very world order it once led and helped build. From NATO to the World Trade Organization, America's credibility is shrinking as allies question whether they can count on Washington. What started as a promise to bring back manufacturing jobs is morphing into a full-blown foreign policy disaster. The tragedy is avoidable. America doesn't need to abandon its economic interests to remain a global leader. But it must stop using tariffs as threats and allies as bargaining chips. It must return to smart diplomacy, to building coalitions rather than burning bridges, and to leading not through fear, but by example. The world is watching. And history is watching too. The question is not just what Trump will do next—but what price America will ultimately pay for choosing confrontation over cooperation.
L'Orient-Le Jour
4 days ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Belgium asks ICC to look at war crimes claims against 2 Israelis
Belgium said Wednesday it would ask the International Criminal Court (ICC) to look into accusations of war crimes leveled against two Israelis who travelled to a Belgian music festival this month. The pair were briefly held for questioning by prosecutors upon attending the electronic dance music festival near Antwerp, following a complaint filed by pro-Palestinian groups who identified them as Israeli soldiers and accused them of violations in Gaza. Authorities initially said they took action after concluding that Belgian courts had extraterritorial jurisdiction over war crimes cases. But after analyzing the complaints, the federal prosecutor's office said on Wednesday that the justice ministry would refer the cases to the ICC, which is already investigating possible violations of humanitarian law in the Palestinian Territories. "This decision was taken in the interest of the proper administration of justice and in accordance with Belgium's international obligations," the office said. The two Israelis, who have not been named, were held after travelling to Tomorrowland, one of the world's largest electronic dance music festivals. The Israeli foreign ministry described the pair as "an Israeli citizen and an IDF soldier." "The ministry of foreign affairs and the IDF dealt with this issue and are in touch with the two," it added in a statement. Both men were released after questioning by the Belgian authorities and their current whereabouts are unclear. The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), a Belgian pro-Palestinian organisation which triggered the investigation, welcomed the referrals but argued Belgium "should have gone further" and prosecuted the pair directly or extradited them to the ICC. "We now urge the ICC to act without delay," it said in a statement. The ICC opened an investigation in 2021 into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Palestinian Territories, including in Gaza. In 2024, the court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the campaign against Hamas in Gaza. At the same time, the ICC issued arrest warrants against three senior Hamas leaders over the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war. All three have since died. The ICC collects potential evidence from many different sources and under its founding statute, anyone — individuals, NGOs, institutions, or governments — can submit whatever they like. It is then up to the prosecutor to decide how credible the source and the information are and whether to use them in a potential case.
Nahar Net
5 days ago
- Nahar Net
Russian missiles kill 27 civilians in Ukraine despite Trump threats
by Naharnet Newsdesk 29 July 2025, 15:07 Russian glide bombs and ballistic missiles struck a Ukrainian prison and a medical facility overnight as Russia's relentless strikes on civilian areas killed at least 27 people across the country, officials said Tuesday, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to soon punish Russia with sanctions and tariffs unless it stops. Four powerful Russian glide bombs hit a prison in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, authorities said. They killed at least 16 inmates and wounded more than 90 others, Ukraine's Justice Ministry said. In the Dnipro region of central Ukraine, authorities said Russian missiles partially destroyed a three-story building and damaged nearby medical facilities, including a maternity hospital and a city hospital ward. At least three people were killed, including a 23-year-old pregnant woman, and two other people were killed elsewhere in the region, regional authorities said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that overnight Russian strikes across the country hit 73 cities, towns and villages. "These were conscious, deliberate strikes — not accidental," Zelenskyy said on Telegram. Trump said Monday he is giving Russian President Vladimir Putin 10 to 12 days to stop the killing in Ukraine after three years of war, moving up a 50-day deadline he had given the Russian leader two weeks ago. The move meant Trump wants peace efforts to make progress by Aug. 7-9. Trump has repeatedly rebuked Putin for talking about ending the war but continuing to bombard Ukrainian civilians. But the Kremlin hasn't changed its tactics. "I'm disappointed in President Putin," Trump said during a visit to Scotland. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Russia is determined to achieve its goals in Ukraine, though he said Moscow has "taken note" of Trump's announcement and is committed to seeking a peaceful solution. Zelenskyy welcomed Trump's shortening of the deadline. "Everyone needs peace — Ukraine, Europe, the United States and responsible leaders across the globe," Zelenskyy wrote in a post on Telegram. "Everyone except Russia." The Kremlin pushes back against Trump The Kremlin pushed back, with a top Putin lieutenant warning Trump against "playing the ultimatum game with Russia." "Russia isn't Israel or even Iran," former president Dmitry Medvedev, who is deputy head of the country's Security Council, wrote on social platform X. "Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country," Medvedev said. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor, the Kremlin has warned Kyiv's Western backers that their involvement could end up broadening the war to NATO countries. "Kremlin officials continue to frame Russia as in direct geopolitical confrontation with the West in order to generate domestic support for the war in Ukraine and future Russian aggression against NATO," the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said late Monday. Russia attacks with glide bombs, drones and missiles The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles along with 37 Shahed-type strike drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight. It said 32 Shahed drones were intercepted or neutralized by Ukrainian air defenses. The Russian attack close to midnight Monday hit the Bilenkivska Correctional Facility with glide bombs, according to the State Criminal Executive Service of Ukraine. Glide bombs, which are Soviet-era bombs retrofitted with retractable fins and guidance systems, have been laying waste to cities in eastern Ukraine, where the Russian army is trying to pierce Ukrainian defenses. The bombs carry up to 3,000 kilograms (6,600 pounds) of explosives. At least 42 inmates were hospitalized with serious injuries, while another 40 people, including one staff member, sustained various injuries. The strike destroyed the prison's dining hall, damaged administrative and quarantine buildings, but the perimeter fence held and no escapes were reported, authorities said. Ukrainian officials condemned the attack, saying that targeting civilian infrastructure, such as prisons, is a war crime under international conventions. The assault occurred exactly three years after an explosion killed more than 50 people at the Olenivka detention facility in the Russia-occupied Donetsk region, where dozens of Ukrainian prisoners were killed. Russia and Ukraine accused each other of shelling the prison. The Associated Press interviewed over a dozen people with direct knowledge of details of that attack, including survivors, investigators and families of the dead and missing. All described evidence they believed points directly to Russia as the culprit. The AP also obtained an internal United Nations analysis that found the same. Russian forces also struck a grocery store in a village in the northeastern Kharkiv region, police said, killing five and wounding three civilians. Authorities in the southern Kherson region reported one civilian killed and three wounded over the past 24 hours. Alongside the barrages, Russia has also kept up its grinding war of attrition, which has slowly churned across the eastern side of Ukraine at a heavy cost in troop losses and military hardware. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Tuesday that Russian troops have captured the villages of Novoukrainka in the Donetsk region and Temyrivka in the Zaporizhzhia region. Ukraine launches long-range drones Ukraine has sought to fight back against Russian strikes by developing its own long-range drone technology, hitting oil depots, weapons plants and disrupting commercial flights. Russia's Defense Ministry said Tuesday that air defenses downed 74 Ukrainian drones over several regions overnight, including 43 over the Bryansk region. Yuri Slyusar, the head of the Rostov region said a man in the city of Salsk was killed in a drone attack, which started a fire at the Salsk railway station. Officials said a cargo train was set ablaze at the Salsk station and the railway traffic via Salsk was suspended. Explosions shattered windows in two cars of a passenger train and passengers were evacuated.
