Subsea Sabotage in the Baltic Sea - a Timeline for Perspective
recovered from the site, confirming it was a deliberate act, but Sweden and Denmark closed their investigations without naming suspects in 2024. No one has taken responsibility.Some Western officials have suggested Moscow blew up its own pipelines, an interpretation dismissed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia, in turn and predictably, has blamed the United States, Britain and Ukraine for the blasts, which largely cut Russian gas off from the European market. Those countries denied involvement. In August 2024, Germany asked Poland to arrest a Ukrainian diving instructor accused of being
Germany Reaffirms Suspicions of Baltic Subsea Cable Damage Being Sabotage
was destroyed in 2022, hastening Europe's switch to other energy suppliers following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.No one has taken responsibility for those blasts. While some Western officials initially blamed Moscow - an interpretation dismissed as "idiotic" by Russian President Vladimir Putin - U.S. and German media have reported that pro-Ukrainian actors may have played a role.(Reuters - Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius, Johan Ahlander in Stockholm, Essi Lehto in Helsinki and Bart Meijer in AmsterdamWriting by Stine Jacobsen and Tassilo HummelEditing by Peter Graff
Russian 'Spy Whale' Hvaldimir Found Dead Near Norway
was suspected of spying for Russia after being discovered in Norwegian waters five years ago has been found dead, according to the non-profit organization that had been monitoring the whale.The body of Hvaldimir - a combination of the Norwegian word for whale and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin - was spotted floating in the sea by a father and son fishing in southern Norway over the weekend, Norwegian public broadcaster NRK reported."Hvaldimir was not just a beluga whale; he was a beacon of hope, a symbol of connection, and a reminder of the deep bond between humans and the natural
Ukraine's Drone Success Shapes US Pacific 'Hellscape' Strategy
more than a kilometer of cable, rendering them much less vulnerable to jamming.Those tactics may work less well over large distances at sea. Unmanned weaponry helped bring Azerbaijan victory in its 2020 war with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, and has evolved significantly since then as well as from Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.By the end of this decade, such weaponry may have shaped the future of the world.(Reuters - The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. Editing by Mark Heinrich
Russian Firm Says Baltic Telecoms Cable was Severed as Chinese Ship Passed Over
Polar Bear passed over a Swedish-Estonian telecoms cable at 1513 GMT, then over the Russian cable at around 2020 GMT, the Balticconnector at 2220 GMT and a Finland-Estonia telecoms line at 2349 GMT.Rostelecom said the damage to its cable was recorded at 2030 GMT.As far back as Oct. 13, President Vladimir Putin dismissed as "complete rubbish" suggestions that Russia might have been to blame for the Balticconnector damage and floated the possibility that a ship's anchor could have caused it.On Tuesday, the Kremlin referred further questions to the Communications Ministry, which did not
Russia to Equip New Nuclear Submarines with Hypersonic Missiles
submarines, built to replace Soviet-era nuclear attack submarines as part of a program to modernize the army and fleet.The sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles have a range of 900 km (560 miles), and can travel at several times the speed of sound, making it difficult to defend against them.President Vladimir Putin said earlier this year that Russia would start mass supplies of Zircon missiles as part of the country's efforts to boost its nuclear forces.The Russian multi-purposes frigate Admiral Gorshkov, which has tested its strike capabilities in the western Atlantic Ocean earlier this year, has been
Russia's Medvedev Says Moscow Now Has Free Hand to Destroy Enemies' Subsea Cables over Nord Stream Blasts
A close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday there was no reason for Moscow not to destroy its enemies' undersea communication cables given what he said was Western complicity in the Nord Stream pipeline blasts.A sharp drop in pressure on both pipelines was registered on Sept. 26 and seismologists detected explosions, triggering a wave of speculation about sabotage to one of Russia's most important energy corridors.It is still unclear exactly what happened, and Western governments have denied involvement. Some U.S. and European officials initially suggested Russia was to
New Intelligence Points to Pro-Ukraine Group in Nord Stream Attack
, declined to comment.In the year since Russia invaded Ukraine, Europe has drastically cut its energy imports from Russia. Moscow this week called for all Nord Stream stakeholders to decide its fate.The U.S. intelligence review suggested those who carried out the attacks opposed Russian President Vladimir Putin "but does not specify the members of the group, or who directed or paid for the operation," the New York Times wrote."Officials who have reviewed the intelligence said they believed the saboteurs were most likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals, or some combination of the two. U
Report: Russia to Mothball Damaged Nord Stream Gas Pipelines
.The similar-sized Nord Stream 2 had been completed in September 2021 as tensions with Russia were growing and ran in trouble as Germany's regulators refused to certify it. Berlin then froze the project days before Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year.Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed using the undamaged link of Nord Stream 2 to pump gas but Germany, now keen to end its reliance on Russia, rejected the idea. Poland has also stopped buying Russian gas.Russia is currently exporting only around 40 million cubic metres per day of pipeline gas to Europe, via Sudzha
February 2025
