Russia spreads fake story about Ukraine and UK planning sabotage in Baltic Sea
Director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergey Naryshkin, has claimed that Ukraine and the United Kingdom are allegedly preparing acts of sabotage in the Baltic Sea. It is another disinformation campaign from the Kremlin, according to Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council.
"Ukraine, together with the British, is preparing provocations in the Baltic Sea. One of the scenarios involves staging a fake Russian torpedo attack on a US Navy ship," Naryshkin said.
However, Kovalenko dismissed these claims as false.
"Naryshkin from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service keeps doing the only thing he knows - fabricating nonsense. This time, he invented a fake story about Ukraine and the UK preparing sabotage operations in the Baltic Sea. And this is the same Naryshkin who organized cable sabotage against NATO using ships of the tanker fleet," he said.
Kovalenko added that Russia's long-term strategy in the Baltic Sea collapsed entirely after Sweden and Finland joined NATO.
"So now Naryshkin comes up with nonsense and provocations to win favor with Putin. Only Russia is capable of planning sabotage in the Baltic, as it has done before," the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation notes.
Damage to underwater cables in the Baltic Sea
On December 25 of last year, it was reported that underwater communication cables between Estonia and Finland had been damaged.
Arto Pahkin, a representative of Finnish electricity transmission system operator Fingrid, noted that two vessels were in the area at the time the connection was severed.
Later, it emerged that Finnish authorities were investigating an oil tanker suspected of being part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet.
According to media reports, by stopping the Russian shadow fleet tanker, Finland may have prevented several more serious sabotage operations. The vessel was believed to be capable of continuing to damage underwater communications infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Finnish President Alexander Stubb called on the international community to counter the risks posed by vessels linked to Russia's shadow fleet.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that the alliance would increase its military presence in the Baltic Sea following the sabotage of the underwater power cable.
