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January 15 %u2022 2025 www.VeteransReporterNews.com VETERANS Reporter News 5We Honor VeteransCommunity PartnerMilitary Order of the Purple HeartGreater Las Vegas Chapter 711 Were you awarded the PH Medal? Join MOPH Chapter 711 Patriots for camaraderie and service with fellow combat wounded veterans. Contact Commander Vincent Palmieri Jr AT 775-389-8100 Do you believe you should have been awarded a Purple Heart and did not receive one? We may be able to help. meetings 1st. saturday each month 10:00 am \i hop 9651 trailwood dr, las vegas, nv 89134 NATO Announces a New Mission to Protect Undersea Cables in the Baltic Sea Region%u25a0 Military.comBRUSSELS %u2014 NATO is launching a new mission to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea region after a string of incidents that have heightened fears of Russian sabotage and spying in the strategic region, the alliance%u2019s leader said on Tuesday.Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that the mission dubbed Baltic Sentry would include frigates, maritime patrol aircraft and a fl eet of naval drones to provide %u201cenhanced surveillance and deterrence.%u201d%u201cAcross the alliance, we have seen elements of a campaign to destabilize our societies through cyberattacks, assassination attempts and sabotage, including possible sabotage of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea,%u201d Rutte told reporters after a meeting in Helsinki with the leaders of Allied Baltic nations.Announcing the new operation, Rutte noted that more than 95% of internet traffi c is secured via undersea cables, and 1.3 million kilometers (808,000 miles) of cables guarantee an estimated $10 trillion worth of fi nancial transactions every day.Even as Rutte was meeting in Helsinki with the leaders of the Baltic nations, there were reports on the Polish state broadcaster TVP World that a ship belonging to Russia%u2019s %u201cshadow fl eet%u201d was seen circling a natural gas pipeline that runs from Norway to Poland. But Poland%u2019s military said later that %u201dthe described incident did not take place.%u201dThe shadow fl eet is made up of hundreds of aging tankers of uncertain ownership and safety practices that are dodging sanctions and keeping the oil revenue fl owing to Moscow, and is a cause of concern for European countries.Rutte said NATO%u2019s adversaries must know that the alliance will not accept attacks on its critical infrastructure, underlining that %u201cwe will do everything in our power to make sure that we fi ght back, that we are able to see what is happening and then take the next steps to make sure that that doesn%u2019t happen again.%u201dThe meeting included leaders from Finland, Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.In a statement, the Baltic Sea allies warned that %u201cwe reserve our rights, in accordance with international law, to take action against any suspected vessels that circumvent sanctions and threaten our security, infrastructure and the environment.%u201dThey said that %u201cRussia%u2019s use of the socalled shadow fl eet poses a particular threat to the maritime and environmental security.%u201d They said that beyond threatening undersea infrastructure, %u201cthis reprehensible practice%u201d also %u201csignifi cantly supports funding of Russia%u2019s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.%u201dIn response, the leaders pledged to %u201cto begin deploying innovative solutions, developing new technologies for surveillance and tracking of suspicious vessels and undersea monitoring.%u201dThey also vowed to explore new legal ways to combat the challenge, step up information sharing, and said that their effort would %u201cinclude enhanced partnerships with the private sector, in particular infrastructure operators and cutting-edge technology companies.%u201dA number of incidents have added to security fears. On Dec. 26 Finnish police and border guards boarded a vessel, the Eagle S, linked to neighboring Russia as they investigated whether it damaged a Baltic Sea power cable and several data cables.Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in separate remarks to reporters in Helsinki that Germany will participate in the Baltic Sentry mission. Asked whether that means Germany will contribute ships or surveillance planes and whether he made a specifi c offer, he replied: %u201cWe will participate with everything we have in the way of naval capabilities; that will vary, as far as the concrete possibilities of deployment are concerned.%u201dSweden also announced Sunday that it plans to contribute up to three warships to increase the alliance%u2019s presence in the Baltic Sea guarding against sabotage of underwater infrastructure.Pressed for more details about what the operation might involve, Rutte declined to provide ship numbers, saying that the fi gure could vary week to week, and %u201cwe don%u2019t want to make the enemy any wiser than he or she is already.%u201d%u201cWe will make use of the full range of possibilities we as an alliance have,%u201d Rutte said.Estonian naval ships sail in the Baltic Sea on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, as part of stepped-up NATO patrols in the region following suspected sabotage of undersea cables. (AP Photo/Hendrik Osula)