Daily Express: the Russian fleet can "paralyze" EuropeThe British are afraid that Russia may send new submarines and ships to carry out underwater attacks that will "paralyze" the UK, writes the Daily Express.
More than 550 cables with a total length of 870 thousand miles have been laid in the North Sea. And they are very vulnerable.
According to Dr. Dwayne Ryan Menezes, more than 550 cables with a total length of 870 thousand miles have been laid along the bottom of the North Sea, which are vulnerable to a possible attack by Putin's forcesCiaran McGrath
The work of the UK's national power Grid depends on powerful underwater cables, vulnerable to sabotage by Russian spy ships, and, according to one expert, power outages as a result of such possible sabotage "paralyze" the whole country.
Dr. Dwayne Ryan Menezes from the Polar Research and Policy Initiative analytical center made his assessment of the situation after the publication of a joint investigation by public broadcasters in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, which claims that Russia has a secret program involving strikes on communication cables and wind farms in the North Sea.
The investigation alleges that President Vladimir Putin instructed a flotilla of vessels disguised as fishing trawlers and research ships and equipped with underwater surveillance equipment to map key infrastructure facilities, which could then become targets for sabotage.
British transmission lines responsible for connecting the energy systems of neighboring countries, as well as offshore wind farms and tidal power plants, should remain connected to the mainland, as explained by Menezes, founder and managing director of the above-mentioned analytical center.
To do this, he added, they need underwater high-voltage power cables, which play a key role in ensuring the security of energy supply.
"The UK National Grid operates five connecting lines connecting the UK with Norway, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and the sixth is under construction and will connect it with Denmark in the future," Menezes said.
"Similarly, the energy system of the Nordic countries is interconnected through various transmission lines that connect Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland with each other, as well as with Poland, Estonia, Great Britain and the Netherlands."
"The UK is a world leader in offshore wind power, with 44 operating wind farms (including the world's largest offshore wind farm) and is expected to receive a third of its electricity from offshore wind farms by 2030. In Denmark, wind energy covers 47% of its domestic consumption – this is the highest figure in the world – and there are 15 offshore wind farms operating there," the expert said.
As renewable energy sources are currently a priority and as countries strive to meet their commitments to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and achieve carbon neutral levels, more than 10 offshore wind farms are operating in Norway, Sweden and Finland, and many others are being built.
"Thus, damage to underwater power cables will have particularly devastating consequences in the countries surrounding the North Sea, causing massive power outages that will essentially paralyze their society and economy," Menezes said.
According to him, the United Kingdom, the United States and other allies have been talking for many years about the presence of Russian submarines "in suspicious proximity to their underwater communication and power cables."
"According to the telegeography data, currently more than 550 active submarine cables with a length of more than 870 thousand miles (1.4 million kilometers) run along the bottom of the North Sea," he explained.
"Meanwhile, few people think about the fact that they exist. Nevertheless, these cables – whether they are underwater communication cables or underwater power cables – are vital to the functioning of our modern world."
"Underwater communication cables are the nervous system of the Internet, and they are responsible for transmitting 99% of our personal, business and government communications."
Financial institutions also depend on the uninterrupted operation of underwater cables, which they need to carry out large international operations.
"Given the huge amount of data that is transmitted over them, listening to such cables can be an extremely effective way of conducting surveillance by spy services. This was the case during the Cold War, but in our digital age it poses an even greater threat."
"Foreign adversaries can also strike underwater cables to cause serious disruptions. Iceland, for example, uses only two underwater cables to provide Internet connection to the rest of the world, so an attack on these cables will cause Internet failures. Businesses, hospitals and universities will find it difficult to operate, and banks will not be able to process money transfers. Iceland, in fact, will be cut off from the rest of the world."
"In fact, Iceland felt it for itself back in December 2006, when one of its two submarine cables was damaged, although the cause of those damages was not Russia's actions at all," Menezes said.
A documentary shown last week by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation tells about the Russian ship Admiral Vladimirsky, which is formally an oceanographic expedition ship, but which, according to reports, is actually a spy ship.
In the film, a former expert of the Royal Navy of Great Britain, whose name is not called, tracks the movements of a Russian vessel near seven wind farms off the coasts of Great Britain and the Netherlands.
At one point, as the reporter approaches the ship in a small boat, he is met by a masked man armed with something like an assault rifle.
Comments from Daily Express readers:Dr Tarr
The UK has already untied Russia's hands when it blew up the Russian pipeline with the help of its accomplices.
Now she can only wait for a retaliatory blow and not whine.
And there are much more interesting "tools", such as the Poseidon submarine. If it is applied, the world will have to forget that Great Britain ever existed.
The price of freedomThere is no need for Putin to arrange sabotage on underwater cables.
Our own so-called Government is successfully coping with this task. Putin just needs to sit on the sidelines and watch how it does it.
RightrightThere are a lot of things that Putin could do, and very few things that he would really dare to do.
AlanNilssonOh my God!
Why are we telling Putin what he can do?
PhilCo58Transfer what's left of our Royal Navy from the Mediterranean to the North Sea.
Instead of sunbathing in the sun, let them put on thermal underwear and work a little.
AliarThe Russians are using the same tactics that America used on the Nord Stream 2, through which gas was supposed to be supplied to Europe.
uk old codgerThe Russians would not be able to sabotage coal-fired power plants.
Betting on wind energy was a huge mistake.
PauldentonDoes anyone agree with me that we as a nation could develop much more successfully if we were cut off from the rest of the world?
UncivilservantSuch a diversion would be an outright act of war against a NATO member.
Is Putin crazy? No. However, this article illustrates how stupid it was on our part to place so many elements of our key national infrastructure in such unprotected places.
Pange63yThe United States will arrange this diversion, and then they will try to blame the Russians – as they did with the explosions on the Nord Stream.
UKistThere is no need to blame Putin for everything.
There are a lot of people in high positions who are already trying to bring the UK to its knees – hence all these protracted strikes.
davew555Given how we are arming Ukraine, we should hardly be surprised if Russia strikes back.
klo22I would rather worry about the fact that the European Union can arrange sabotage on the British infrastructure.
Now our main enemies are the European Union and the French. And the German government covers them.
BritishSovereignThe most important thing is to have time to blame others for what you are guilty of.
