Media: Russia possibly preparing to sabotage wind turbines, gas pipes, power cables in Nordic countries

Authored by kyivindependent.com and submitted by KI_official

Russia may be preparing to sabotage wind farms, gas pipelines, and power and internet cables in the waters around Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden, Danish media outlet DR Nyheder reported on April 19.

According to intelligence services and experts cited in the joint investigation by Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish media, civilian and military Russian ships are mapping offshore wind farms, gas pipelines, and power and internet cables in the waters around Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden.

Intercepted radio communications from the Russian navy revealed the presence of "ghost ships" in Nordic waters, including the Russian naval vessel the "Admiral Vladimirsky," which is officially used for marine research.

However, according to DR Nyheder, the naval vessel is also believed to be involved in intelligence work, and thanks to intercepted radio communications, the investigative team was able to track the Admiral Vladimirsky north of Denmark's Sjællands Odde peninsula.

A DR journalist and photographer approached the ship in their own boat, and "several men with covered faces stepped forward on deck, including a uniformed man wearing a bulletproof vest armed with a Russian military rifle."

The intel that Russia is allegedly collecting could potentially enable the country to launch attacks on energy and communication infrastructure in the event of what it views as a larger conflict with the West. Such attacks would cause issues in various sectors not only in the Nordics but also in other parts of Europe, DR Nyheder wrote.

Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden have all provided considerable military and financial aid to Ukraine in Russia's all-out war against the country.

On April 13, Norway expelled 15 Russian intelligence officers who were employees of the Russian embassy and had allegedly been "engaging in activities that are not compatible with their diplomatic status."

blah_bleh-bleh on April 19th, 2023 at 16:28 UTC »

I believe that’s a wet dream of every country to sabotage enemy’s energy grid and infrastructure. Only if it was as easy as dreaming.

Jmbck on April 19th, 2023 at 13:31 UTC »

Guys, the Kyiv Independent is not a reliable source.

detachedshock on April 19th, 2023 at 11:15 UTC »

Apparently there is a television series being aired sometime tonight(?) that covers this in far more detail and more: https://twitter.com/CovertShores/status/1648567611377025027 Unsure if it will be in English.

Also BBC article which states that these Russian vessels have been moving around in UK waters as part of this program: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65309687

Additionally, another article was posted earlier today (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/19/russian-hackers-want-to-disrupt-or-destroy-uk-infrastructure-minister-warns) about the UK Cabinet Office minister warning that the paramilitary Wagner group are seeking “to disrupt or destroy” parts of the UK’s critical national infrastructure. Shortly after that article was published, the UK National Cyber Security Center published a news alert warning about a heightened threat of state-aligned groups against western critical national infrastructure (https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/heightened-threat-of-state-aligned-groups).

It seems like Russia is cultivating non-nuclear/kinetic retaliation options attacking CNI, but beyond just theory. Very concerning. I am not certain if this is especially new, but the threat may be becoming more realistic.