A documentary shown by several Scandinavian TV channels accuses Russia of running a spy program in northern European waters that would use dozens of military and civilian vessels for potential sabotage.
The Kremlin has already responded to these revelations as misconceptions and unfounded accusations, and took the opportunity to reiterate its call for a “transparent and impartial international investigation” into the acts of sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea last September.
According to a joint investigation by TV channels NRK (Norway), DR (Denmark), SVT (Sweden) and Yle (Finland), which cites representatives of the intelligence services of the Nordic countries, Moscow is using the Almirante Vladimirsky oceanographic vessel for espionage purposes.
During a mission in late 2022, the vessel sailed near large offshore wind farms off the coast of Denmark and the UK, presumably to survey energy infrastructure.
When a Danish TV crew approached the Vladimirsky, two armed soldiers came on deck to announce their presence.
According to the Scandinavian television investigation, Russian intelligence services also use trawlers, cargo ships and even yachts equipped with underwater or radio intelligence.
The documentary, dubbed “War of the Shadows,” also tells of the Norwegian police’s discovery of old Soviet radios with an operator in a locked compartment aboard Russian trawlers.
In Sweden, 27 of these suspected vessels have sailed in Swedish waters or docked in Swedish ports in the past five years.
In Norway, over a period of 10 years, at least 50 Russian vessels “have been able to secretly collect information,” according to a count based on their AIS (Automatic Identification System) electronic signature.
The documentary, due to be shown this Wednesday evening on various TV channels, prompted an immediate response from Moscow, which echoes the thesis of Western responsibility for sabotaging the Nord Stream underwater gas pipelines linking Russia with Germany.
“The media in these countries made a mistake in their investigation. They prefer to blame Russia again without grounds,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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