Finland filed criminal charges against the top officers of a Baltic oil tanker Monday in connection with severe damage done to undersea cables in December, one of a string of energy and telecom ruptures in the region that many European officials suspected were part of a sabotage campaign directed by Moscow.

The National Prosecution Authority in Helsinki indicted the captain and two first officers of the Eagle S, a Cook Islands-registered tanker believed to be part of a "shadow fleet" transporting Russian oil in violation of international sanctions.

Finland has brought formal charges against the captain and two senior crew members of a Russian-linked oil tanker, and officials are describing it as NATO’s first criminal case over Baltic Sea sabotage.