A Russia would have deployed a fleet of ships in the North Sea to sabotage wind farms, gas pipelines and communication cables in the Nordic countries, according to a joint investigation by public television channels Norway (NRK), Denmark (DR), Sweden (SVT) and Finland (Yle).
According to the investigation, the Russian fleet is masquerading as a research vessel or fishing trawler and carries equipment to monitor underwater and map the area with the aim of planning attacks to damage communications or shut down power systems.
According to the sources consulted for the investigation, which are part of a documentary that will be broadcast jointly by the channels from this Wednesday, April 19, the aim of the Russian military program is to prepare the country for a “major conflict with the West”. “.
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“In the event of a conflict with the West, they are ready and know where to intervene if they want to paralyze Danish society,” says counterintelligence chief Anders Henriksen of the Danish Police Intelligence Service (PET).
For his part, Nils Andreas Stensønes, head of Norway’s intelligence agency, claims that the program is “of great importance to Russia’s strategy” and is “managed directly from Moscow”.
The investigation was conducted with the analysis of intercepted Russian Navy radio communications, which revealed that there are “ghost” ships in the North Sea and that they had turned off their transmitters to keep them out of northern waters.
One such ship in the Russian military fleet is Admiral Vladimirsky. Officially, the ship conducts underwater research, but the investigation claims it’s actually being used for espionage work.
According to DR, the 147.8metrelong ship passed through the Kattegat Strait between Denmark and Sweden last November without sharing its location with the outside world while continuously transmitting radio messages to a naval base in Russia. Shortly after the messages were intercepted, the ship was north of Denmark.
DR reports that in November, when journalists approached Admiral Vladimirsky’s location in a smaller boat, they were confronted by several men with covered faces and bulletproof vests carrying what appeared to be Russian military rifles.
Experts heard from broadcasters during the investigation said the main objective of the ship’s mission, which spent a month traveling through other regions of the North Sea, was to prepare for sabotage so that Russia could shut down energy supplies in northwestern Europe. The same ship would have been sighted near the Scottish coast, in addition to Belgium and Holland.
“There are tangles of cables where a bomb could bring down the entire wind farm,” marine analyst HI Sutton, who checked the ship’s route for broadcasters, told DR.
The investigation also raises the possibility that the Russian vessels were linked to an incident in Svalbard, southern Norway, when an underwater data cable was severed. Norwegian police said they believe “human activity” was behind the sabotage.
Of Russian officials questioned by broadcasters about the ships, only the Russian ambassador to Norway replied: “The work of the research vessels is being carried out in full accordance with international law. This work will be coordinated through diplomatic channels,” Teimuraz Ramishvili said in a written comment.
“ghost” ships
According to the investigation, large amounts of ship traffic data were mapped last year and found information on 50 Russian ships that had sailed suspiciously over the past 10 years.
“They can carry out specific missions where they can, for example, place sea mines and map pipelines, communication cables and other relevant sabotage targets,” Åse Gilje Østensen, a hybrid threats expert at the Norwegian Defense Academy, told DR.
Norway expelled 15 Russian diplomats in April
Last Thursday, the 13th, Norway announced the expulsion of 15 Russian diplomats on suspicion of espionage.
“These 15 secret agents are being declared undesirable for engaging in activities incompatible with their diplomatic status,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said in a statement. “This is an important measure to counter and reduce the scope of Russian espionage activities in Norway,” he added.
Norwegian intelligence services regularly point to Russia and China as the top espionage threats against the Nordic country, a member of NATO and bordering Russia with which it shares a 198 km border in the Arctic.
In April 2022, just weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, Oslo like other European capitals expelled three Russian diplomats suspected of espionage, prompting Moscow to respond by expelling three Norwegian diplomats.AP It is AFP