Poland Reports Russian Fishing Boat Suspicious Near Petrobaltic Underwater Pipe

Polish border guards saw Russian fishing boats acting suspiciously near gas pipelines in the waters off the city of Wldyslawowo, amid concerns over possible sabotage operations in the Baltic Sea.

The Baltic Sea borders eight NATO alliance countries that have doubled efforts to protect submarine cables and pipes after a series of alleged sabotage incidents, some of which the West has accused Moscow of. Russia denies involvement.

"On October 1, Russian fishing vessels were seen by Border Guards reducing speeds as they carried out suspicious maneuvers near Petrobaltic's underwater pipeline," the Border Guard said in a statement, referring to the company operating in the area.

"This incident occurred 18 nautical miles north of Wldyslawowo. After receiving a radio warning, the captain sailed away from the critical infrastructure zone," he continued.

The Russian Embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Home Affairs, Karolina Galecka, told reporters the ship was about 300 meters from the pipe.

Earlier, Prime Minister Donald Tusk mentioned an incident near the port of Szczecin about 300 km (190 miles) southwest of Wldy'lawowo in a European summit in Copenhagen, without providing further details.

He said that there was a Russian provocation in the Baltic "almost every day".

Tomasz Siemoniak, the minister in charge of special services, said the incident referred to by Tusk was different from the incident near Wldyslawowo.