Russian Sabotage Against NATO Nations

"...We knew what they were doing."

"Some of it was espionage, where they are charting a lot things. Some of it, I think, was positioning in case of a war or a deep crisis."

Stale Ulriksen, researcher, Royal Norwegian Naval Academy

The Estlink 2 power cable in the Gulf of Finland was ruptured in suspected Russian interference

 

Drones began appearing over oil rigs and wind farms off Norway's coast some three years ago, and the puzzle to officials was where they came from although they were suspected of having been launched from ships in the North Sea by Russia. Ships close by underwater energy pipelines. But action could not be taken, since they were flying over international waters. Drones were seen as well over military bases in Britain and Germany over areas where U.S. forces are stationed.

According to military analysts, the drones may have been on a surveillance mission sponsored by a state; their presence a hybrid (gray zone) attack. This represents a new range of tactics -- military, cuber, economic, psychological -- utilized in covertly attacking or destabilizing an enemy. Hybrid attacks on Western countries are being increasingly brazen as hostile states such as Russia, Iran and others plan these dangerously unsettling attacks. The challenge for the West is how to react without setting off an infinitely more dangerous response?

 

Finnish authorities announced on January 8, 2025 that they had banned the oil tanker Eagle S, suspected of belonging to the Russian 'ghost fleet' and of having caused damage to five submarine cables, from sailing due to 'serious faults'

 

This past July three packages exploded in Europe, postmarked from Lithuania, parcels containing electric massage machines containing highly flammable magnesium-based substances, an event that was potentially deadly as a hybrid attack. Two such packages exploded in DHL cargo facilities in Britain and Germany, a third in a Polish courier firm. Investigators felt the packages represented a test by Russian military intelligence in planting explosives on cargo planes bound for the United States and Canada.

Hybrid attacks have been deployed, it is believed, by Russia through covert sabotage against NATO allies dating from the Kremlin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. American and NATO intelligence agencies discovered a Russian plot to murder the chief executive of Rheinmetall, a German weapons giant, which manufactures arms and ammunition for Ukraine.

Drones appeared in Germany over Ramstein Air Base, one of the largest U.S. military posts in Europe; others seen near facilities owned by Rheinmetall. All of which Russia has time and again denied any involvement in. "Failing to act (by NATO members by imposing a unified range of measures) will mean the Kremlin retains the strategic advantage", warned former British intelligence strategist Charlie Edwards.

In the Baltic Sea, the crew of the Estonian mine hunter EML Sakala kept a careful watch on vessels slowing down or suddenly changing course suspiciously, just west of Russia. With the use of binoculars and long zoom lens cameras, they log names of ships, searching them out for missing anchors or trailing cables About 200 vessels were so scoured in a week at sea by the Estonian crew.

 

Finnish authorities said on December 26 that they were investigating a Russian oil tanker, named Eagle S, that sailed from a Russian port over suspected 'sabotage'

 

One of three Estonian navy ships, in marine patrols by NATO countries in the wake of the Estlink-2 power cable and communication links between Finland and Estonia damaged on December 25. Two other undersea data cables were also damaged a month before and suspicion fell on Russia, although nothing has been proven and once again the Kremlin denied involvement. The infrastructure provides power and communication for thousands of Europeans.

In the wake of the December 25 incident, the Eagle S, an oil tanker had left a Russian port, when Finnish police and border guards seized the tanker as it fell under suspicion of cutting the Estlink 2 power and four telecommunications cables by dragging its anchor. Carrying 35,000 tons of oil, investigators charged the ship left a drag trail with its anchor for close to 100 kilometres on the sea bed before it was apprehended and escorted to a Finnish port.

At a depth of 90 metres at its deepest point, the cable is some 145 kilometres in length, stretching across one of the busiest shipping lanes in Europe. Ten Baltic Sea cables have suffered damage since 2023. Undersea cables and pipelines criss-crossing the sea, link Nordic, Baltic and central European countries. They promote trade, energy security and serve to reduce dependence on energy resources from Russia.

The patrol ship Turva located an anchor that is suspected to be related to the cable damage that occurred on December 25.    Finnish Police