Polish ultra-swimmer Bartlomiej Kubkowski became the first person to complete an unassisted, non-stop 160-kilometer swim across the Baltic Sea from Sweden to Poland in 55 hours and 10 minutes, raising nearly $190,000 for children with cancer.
Beijing faces calls from a Shanghai Maritime University law professor to enact a dedicated law protecting undersea fibre-optic cables amid rising global threats to critical ocean infrastructure.
Polish swimmer Bartłomiej Kubkowski successfully crossed the Baltic Sea from Sweden to Poland on his fifth attempt, swimming for over two days without sleep to achieve the milestone.
Ukrainian drones targeted Russia's Omsk oil refinery, its largest, located 2,700km from Ukraine. The attack, confirmed by local authorities, occurred before a Nato summit. Russia claimed most drones were destroyed, with no casualties. President Zelenskyy hailed it as a significant achievement, extending Ukraine's strike capability to Siberia.
German prosecutors have charged Serhii K. and six accomplices, alleging they acted on orders from Ukrainian state authorities to sabotage the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022. K., identified as a Ukrainian army officer, and his team reportedly used a yacht to plant explosives near Bornholm, aiming to halt Russian gas supplies.
German federal prosecutors have charged a Ukrainian national, Serhii K., with leading a team of seven accomplices in the September 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions. Detained in Italy in August 2025 and extradited to Germany, K. denies involvement. Investigators cite evidence including intercepted calls and explosives traces on the yacht Andromeda.
Estonia released surveillance images showing a Russian-flagged LNG carrier, Marshal Vasilevskiy, fortified with machine guns and sandbags in the Baltic Sea. This move, described as hostile by an analyst, signals Russia's confrontational stance to protect its civilian fleet amid sanctions and increased military presence.
Russia claims to have found NATO mines in the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga. Germany condemns Russia's escalation and use of the Oreschnik missile. Ukraine requests an urgent UN Security Council meeting following massive attacks on Kyiv.
Three NATO reconnaissance aircraft, including a US Bombardier Challenger 650 Artemis II and a Swedish Air Force Saab 340B ISR, were spotted near Russia's Kaliningrad Region over the Baltic Sea. A Beechcraft King Air 350ER from Estonia was also observed.
A humpback whale, previously rescued in a controversial effort off Germany's coast, has been found dead near the Danish island of Anholt. Authorities confirmed the identity using a tracking device.
A humpback whale nicknamed Timmy, stranded in shallow waters near Germany's Baltic Sea coast since March, was released from a barge in the North Sea around 70km from Skagen, Denmark on Saturday. The whale had repeatedly become stranded near Wismar, with failed efforts to coax it toward deeper waters live-streamed globally. The rescue was approved by Germany's Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania environment minister despite scientific warnings.
Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya condemned French-Polish joint air force exercises as highly provocative, noting they involve Rafale fighter jets practicing simulated nuclear strikes on Russian territory. The drills are scheduled over the Baltic Sea and northern Poland. Nebenzya also criticized France's president for announcing plans to expand France's nuclear arsenal.
A tugboat docked at a nearby port is expected to reach the barge
The corvette Soobrazitelny of the Russian Baltic Fleet has carried out a gun exercise at the fleet's sea range in the Baltic Sea, firing a 30-mm AK-630 artillery mount at a dummy floating mine. The exercise included scenarios for radiation, chemical, and biological hazards, water ingress, and fire alerts. The crew also practiced air defense missions, performed electronic jamming exercises, and conducted counter-sabotage operations.
France and Poland are planning joint air force exercises over the Baltic Sea involving Rafale fighter jets equipped with nuclear warheads to simulate strikes against targets near St. Petersburg, according to Polish media reports. The exercises would also include practice strikes with US-made JASSM-ER cruise missiles. Poland's Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz stated the day before that President Macron and Prime Minister Tusk had not discussed joint nuclear exercises, and nuclear deterrence cooperation is not as advanced as media reports suggest. The Kremlin warned that such plans indicate Europe's drive toward further militarization and nuclearization.
A stranded humpback whale in the Baltic Sea remains stuck near Poel island, Germany, as rescuers struggle to guide it back to deeper waters.
