Russian Espionage Ships in the Baltic Sea
A fleet of Russian ships is mapping out offshore wind farms, gas pipelines and sea cables in the Baltic and North Sea, according to a Nordic investigative report from April 19. The collaborative investigation by public broadcasters in Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden found that Russian research and fishing vessels sailing in Nordic waters are carrying underwater surveillance equipment. Some experts believe that Russia is using these ships for espionage.
The investigation identified 50 Russian ships that conducted patrols near critical infrastructure in the North Sea at some point in the past decade. These ships have:
- Passed over oil and gas fields
- Sailed near nato military exercises
- Loitered around offshore wind farms.
Danish Police Intelligence Service counterintelligence chief Andres Henriksen said, “Russia primarily does this to expand their foreign and security policy space for maneuver back in Moscow.”
In the event of a conflict with the West, they are ready and know where to intervene if they want to paralyze Danish society.
—Anders Henriksen
This is a strategic capacity for Russia, which is considered very important and is controlled directly from Moscow.
—Nils-Andreas Stensønes, head of the Norwegian Intelligence Service
Armed ship: One of the ships was identified as Russia’s oceanographic research vessel, Admiral Vladimirsky. The ship’s Automatic Identification System transmitter had been shut off and the ship had been sailing undetected for over a month. When a reporter in a small boat approached the vessel, a masked man in a uniform, bulletproof vest and assault rife appeared on deck.
European unification: Europe’s energy market is largely supplied by its North Sea infrastructure, and Russia’s surreptitious activity is putting European Union member states on high alert. Europe will not sit back and take the threat from Russia lightly. Bible prophecy in Daniel and Revelation says that as Russia’s threats get more blatant and bold, European states will respond by consolidating their power and militarizing.
These prophecies are accelerating toward their fulfillment. Though Europe has much to do before its military union is fully formed, Europeans are under great pressure. Major crises are driving this push for a European military. … Terrorist attacks, the migrant crisis, Russia’s increasing aggression—none of these problems are going away. If Europe’s efforts stall, one or more of these forces will push Europe again toward its prophesied destiny: a superstate whose individual nations lose sovereignty but gain the power projection of a 21st-century superpower.
—“Why the Trumpet Watches Europe’s Push Toward a Unified Military”
