Could Russia Be Planning To Cut “Vital” Undersea Internet Cables In Time Of War?

As the tension between Western powers and Russia deepens, one country at the fore front of this is worried that Russian vessels are too close to vital undersea cables. The United States is worried that Russia may be planning to cut these cables that carry more than $10tr/1.9 Quadrillion Naira / 1 Quadrillion KES in global business daily. The cables in question also carry about 95% of global data. This was first reported by the New York Times yesterday.

Inside the Pentagon and the nation’s spy agencies, the assessments of Russia’s growing naval activities are highly classified and not publicly discussed in detail. American officials are secretive about what they are doing both to monitor the activity and to find ways to recover quickly if cables are cut. But more than a dozen officials confirmed in broad terms that it had become the source of significant attention in the Pentagon.

“I’m worried every day about what the Russians may be doing,” said Rear Adm. Frederick J. Roegge, commander of the Navy’s submarine fleet in the Pacific, who would not answer questions about possible Russian plans for cutting the undersea cables.

But why would Russia cut access to what it benefits from? Well even though the report doesn’t claim that Russia has begun cutting these cables, it’s likely it may do that in times of war. So it may just be that Russia may be looking for cables run by intelligence agencies. The US shares intelligence with many of Russia’s own neighbours especially with NATO allies like Estonia and Poland who are geographically close to Russia. Another could be a pre-emptive move by the US to draw the world’s attention to the fact that Russia may be planning to cut people’s access to the internet. This may in turn draw sympathy from nations who usually don’t delve into matters like this. This will in the end build a stringer coalition against Russia in future.

In any case, no one wants an important things like the internet threatened by any nation.