Svezia: attacco a circa 30 alberi di telecomunicazioni studiati come sabotaggio

A series of about 30 unexplained acts of sabotage targeting telecom masts is being investigated by the police, SVT can reveal.

The majority of the cases are linked to the E22 highway on Sweden’s east coast – and are part of a larger increase in suspected sabotage against the telecommunications sector.

“We are taking this seriously, and that is why we have chosen to take action,” says Detective Superintendent Håkan Wessung.

The attackers are not stealing anything, but rather cutting cables and destroying fuses. SVT has reviewed official documentation describing the situation – which is being taken very seriously.

“Technical equipment has been destroyed at a number of locations, and what makes this special is that the reports have come to us from a geographically limited area,” says Roger Gustafsson, Head of Security at the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS).

“Stands out”

The suspected sabotage cases began to flood in to the PTS during the Easter weekend. In some cases, the mobile network has been unusable, but the attacks have not led to any major disruptions. PTS has, at times, organized a crisis team to manage the situation.

“This stands out and is more than usual,” says Roger Gustafsson.

According to information obtained by SVT, the police are working on the theory that a single perpetrator is behind the majority of the attacks. A common denominator between the cases is that almost all the sabotage has occurred near the European route E22 along the east coast.

“There are circumstances that suggest everything is connected, but that is something the investigation will have to show,” says Public Prosecutor Michelle Stein, who is leading the police investigation.

The investigation is being led by the Serious Crimes Unit in Kalmar, which is tasked with coordinating the cases in the regions of Småland and Östergötland.

“We are conducting extensive information gathering and analysis of the material we collect,” says Detective Superintendent Håkan Wessung, head of the Serious Crimes Unit in Kalmar.

“Nothing is being ruled out”

Neither the police nor the prosecutor’s office are willing to comment on possible motives. The Swedish Security Service stated in a comment to SVT that they are being kept informed about the investigation.

“We are not ruling anything out,” says Håkan Wessung.

The incidents along the E22 are part of a larger trend of increasing crime targeting critical infrastructure. The state-owned company Teracom, which owns communication masts throughout the country, reports that there has been a several-fold increase in incidents over the past year.

“We assume that some of these types of reports we file are linked to intelligence gathering and sabotage meant to test our capabilities and observe what we do, to monitor and see how we act in these kinds of situations,” says Stefan Steijnick, Head of Security at Teracom.

Sharp increase in reports

Teracom is a state-owned company that provides infrastructure, such as masts, for television, radio, and other communications.

The company tells SVT that during the first four months of 2024, it reported 15 incidents to the police, and during the same period in 2025, Teracom has now reported around 50 incidents.

The incidents include, among other things, suspected sabotage and attempted intrusions.

How many more of these Russian attacks on our infrastructure must we swallow before our leaders decide to put on their big boy pants?

– bomb packages on our airplanes
– mall fires
– under sea cable sabotage
– energy infrastructure attacks in Spain and France

And now this! We aren’t even supplying Ukraine with all we could to do the work for us! Shameful!

Let me guess, moscovia?