A prelude to a conflict with NATO or an individual country, Finland? Cut as many communications lines as possible beforehand?
Your guess is as good as mine. Offhand I doubt that cutting a few communications lines would seriously impact the military capabilities of the NATO countries in the region, but that's just a guess on my part.
The UK has been watching a Russian spy ship very closely.
>>>The Royal Navy has been monitoring a Russian spy ship after it was spotted around UK waters earlier this week, the defence secretary has told MPs.
John Healey said the vessel, Yantar, was used for gathering intelligence and mapping the UK's critical underwater infrastructure.
He said the incident was "another example of growing Russian aggression".
Healey added: "I also wanted President [Vladimir] Putin to hear this message: we see you, we know what you're doing and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country." . . .
He said a Royal Navy submarine had been authorised to surface close to Yantar - a highly unusual move.
Healey described this "strictly as a deterrent measure" and "to make clear that we have been covertly monitoring its every move". Defence sources told the BBC the ship was also given a verbal warning. "The ship then left UK waters without further loitering and sailed down to the Mediterranean," Healey added.<<<
John Healey says the vessel is used to gather intelligence and map the UK's underwater infrastrcuture.
www.bbc.com
Having a sub surface right next to the Russian spy ship was a nice touch (and apparently effective).
>>>Interestingly, Healey disclosed that a Royal Navy submarine was among the assets tasked with shadowing the
Yantar when it was in British waters back in November. The defense secretary said that warships and patrol aircraft were also involved in tracking the Russian vessel.
At one point, the submarine surfaced close to the
Yantar “to make clear that we had been covertly monitoring its every move,” he said.
The submarine wasn’t named but will have been one of the five currently active
Astute class attack submarines.<<<
The Russian spy ship Yantar, accused of mapping underwater infrastructure, was back in U.K. waters this week. The Russian spy ship Yantar, accused of mapping underwater infrastructure, was back in U.K. waters this week.
www.twz.com
From the twz.com article, the Netherlands has been actively monitoring the area as well.
>>>In the Baltic Sea alone, cables have been damaged on three occasions, with all of them carrying at least some of the hallmarks of sabotage. In the most prominent event, on Dec. 25, an oil tanker dragging its anchor, damaging a power cable running between Finland and Estonia. This led to NATO launching
Baltic Sentry, a mission intended to ensure the security of critical undersea infrastructure in the region. As you can read about
here, the mission now also involves Dutch F-35A stealth fighters and it will soon add at <<<
