An investigation by public television in Denmark (DR), Norway (NRK), Finland (YLE) and Sweden (SVT) points to the systematic use of Russian ships to spy on submarine cable networks from the Baltic Sea to the British Isles for possible sabotage. . Kiev acknowledges the Russian advance in Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, where two former Russian prisoners fought and spoke of atrocities they had committed against a Russian human rights organization operating in exile.
Oceanographic vessels, cargo ships, yachts or trawlers: in the past decade, at least 50 Russian vessels equipped with radio and underwater surveillance technology have reportedly been clandestinely collecting information in Norwegian waters.
Upon arrival at the Russian science ship, the speedboat carrying journalists encountered masked and armed men.
In the first episode of the investigation, journalists board the science ship Admiral Vladimirsky – who had disabled the geolocation system and was intercepted thanks to the detection of messages sent ashore – in a speedboat and as they approached they saw several men with balaclavas on their faces and weapons in their hands.
Research shows that the oceanographic vessel Admiral Vladimirskywhich departed Kronstadt, near Saint Petersburg, in November 2022, sailed with the Automatic Identification System (AIS) disabled to conceal its location, and remained off the Scottish coast near an area where two offshore wind farms are located, at closely followed by two other Englishmen and finally by a Dane before landing in Kaliningrad.
The official purpose of the trip was to search for energy infrastructure, but according to the Nordic intelligence services, these ships send the collected information to a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense whose program is to attack the submarine if necessary. infrastructure of Western countries, such as communication cables or power connections.
Adding to this investigation is the fact that Norwegian secret services have warned that the Russian fleet in the north is now equipped with nuclear weapons for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
For Moscow, “the media of these countries have made a mistake in their investigation” and “prefer to accuse Russia again without foundation”. “We’d rather they pay more attention to attacks against the[s gasodutos] Nord Stream and a transparent and impartial international investigation,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The day was also marked by the revelation of details of war crimes committed by two former commanders of the Wagner mercenary group. Over the course of a week, Azmat Uldarov and Alexey Savichev, recruited from Russian prisons, told Vladimir Osechkin, director of the human rights organization Gulagu, on video about the horrors they had seen and committed in eastern Ukraine, killing dozens of civilians in the building residential buildings in Bakhmut and Soledar, blowing up pits with dozens of prisoners, or even liquidating compatriots who refused to fight. “When we entered Soledar and Bakhmut, we were ordered to destroy everyone: men, women, children, the elderly. A girl, I don’t know if she was 5 or 6 years old, screamed. And I killed her,” said Uldarov .
Both assured that it was the owner of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who ordered the shootings and murders. Prigozhin – who is regaining credit with Vladimir Putin, according to the US Institute for the Study of War – has denied that his fighters kill children or civilians.
The Ukrainian government – which announced the arrival of batteries from the North American Patriot anti-aircraft system and the German Iris-T – recognized the Russian advance in Bakhmut and issued a statement to them: “Because they are losing us in the streets. During the fighting, they are taking are resorting to the tactics they used in Syria and are razing buildings to the ground,” said Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar. She explained that the announced counter-offensive will not be publicly announced and some measures are already being taken, in addition, the commanders have different plans to choose from depending on the developments on the ground. “It is necessary to understand that such decisions are made in a very short time. And the plan is ultimately chosen so that the enemy does not have time to react,” he said.
On a political level, after Bulgaria joined Poland, Hungary and Slovakia in limiting imports of Ukrainian grains, the President of the European Commission proposed releasing an additional €100 million to help farmers in Eastern Europe, after an advance of 56.3 million euros last month. .
Source: DN
