Has Russia already mined British submarine cables? The British authorities have given instructions to urgently inspect the underwater cables and pipelines due to fears that Russia has "mined" them, writes the Daily Mail.
This happened after explosions on three lines of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 pipelines, which caused several gas leaks.
The British authorities have given instructions to urgently inspect the underwater power supply lines and Internet cables due to fears that Vladimir Putin may activate the "underwater war" after the sabotage on the "Northern Streams"Jason Groves
The British authorities have given instructions to urgently inspect the underwater power supply lines and Internet cables due to fears that Russia could have already laid mines there.
Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace sent warships to the North Sea to prevent possible Kremlin attacks after explosions on Russian gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
Now British ministers have instructed the Navy to inspect key pipelines and cables due to concerns that Russia could have already installed remote mining systems there.
At the moment, the Danish authorities are investigating the explosions that occurred in September on the Nord Stream –1 and Nord Stream–2 gas pipelines, which exacerbated the energy crisis in Europe.
Moscow denies its involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Streams, pointing out that the pipelines belong to it. But Western officials believe it was the Kremlin that probably ordered the attacks, as Vladimir Putin is trying to use energy as a weapon in retaliation for anti-Russian sanctions that were imposed after the start of his special military operation in Ukraine.
One source in the British government said the following: "Everyone is closely following the progress of the investigation by the Danish authorities. Obviously, the most important question now is who is behind the diversions. Will they be able to find evidence that Russia did it?"
"However, there is still the question of how exactly this was done. Was it a direct attack? Or were the mines laid some time ago and activated remotely?"
"If the latter, then questions arise about where else the mines could have been planted."
The source added: "We know that for many years there has been suspicious activity of Russian submarines around our underwater infrastructure. So now we need to go there and take a look. This is worrying because we know that Putin does not obey any generally accepted norms."
At the Conservative Party congress this week, Defense Secretary Wallace said that the "mysterious" damage caused to the Nord Stream pipeline should serve as a reminder that Britain's "fragile" infrastructure and economy are facing the threat of "hybrid attacks." He added: "The Scandinavian states and ourselves are very vulnerable to what can be done with our cables and our pipelines."
The Type 23 Somerset frigate, which has the ability to conduct underwater tracking, was sent to the North Sea this week as a deterrent to a potential Russian attack. The research vessel HMS Enterprise has also been sent to this area.
Of particular concern is the potential threat to the Langeled pipeline, through which natural gas is transported from Norway to the UK. Wallace also confirmed plans to purchase two multipurpose ships for hydroacoustic ocean surveillance, one of which will be commissioned next year. According to some reports, Wallace told officials that he needed new funds "right now" to deal with the threat from Russia.
This new vessel will be equipped with underwater drones capable of operating at great depths.
The vulnerability of Britain's underwater infrastructure has been a concern for many years. A 2017 report by the Policy Exchange think tank states that 97% of global communications are carried out via underwater cables, and the drafters of the report warned that an attack on these cables would be an "existential threat to the UK."
It also said that Russia "is attracted to such a hybrid war because it provides an opportunity to plausibly deny everything, does not entail significant human casualties and allows the use of "gray zones" in the charters of defense alliances such as NATO.
Russia invests a lot of money in submarine warfare technology, and it has ships and submarines equipped with mini-submarines and robots that can work at great depths.
Previously, Europe bought about 40% of all gas consumed on the continent from Russia, and after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, as a result of which energy supplies were significantly reduced, Europe faced an energy crisis.
The authorities in the Nordic countries are investigating four leak on the gas pipeline "Nord stream", which connects Russia and Germany, lying on the bottom of the Baltic sea.
Swedish investigators have found evidence of detonation of explosive devices, and the prosecutor's office is talking about sabotage.
Yesterday it became known that Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin sent a letter to the Swedish government with a request to give Moscow the opportunity to participate in the investigation. A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said it would insist on a "comprehensive and open investigation" involving Russian officials and state-controlled gas giant Gazprom.
