The Russian Navy is preparing to accompany NATO forces on long-range approaches
The protection of the underwater communications of the EU countries is nothing more than an excuse to build up the naval forces of the West in the Baltic Sea, experts told Izvestia, commenting on the deployment of a squadron of six ships of the Joint Expeditionary Forces (JEF) to the region. The British frigate Richmond has already stopped in Gothenburg, Sweden. JEF intends to bring its grouping in the Baltic Sea to 20 ships. A source of Izvestia in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the forces of the Russian Navy are on duty near the Danish Straits to track the actions of the squadron. Experts expressed confidence that Britain and its allies do not have enough ships to form a combat-ready group in the Baltic. In addition, naval targets in this region are easily destroyed by coastal-based anti-ship missile systems and aircraft.
Waiting for guests
The forces of the Russian Navy are on duty in the area of the Danish Straits at the entrance to the Baltic Sea to escort a squadron of six ships of the United Expeditionary Forces (JEF), led by Great Britain, a source in the Russian Defense Ministry told Izvestia.
The decision to send the squadron was made on November 28 at an online meeting of the JEF defense ministers. The head of the Swedish military department, Paul Jonsson, explained it by the need to "conduct maritime surveillance ...monitor the security situation and better protect the underwater infrastructure."
Swedish multi-purpose corvette of the Visby type during the NATO exercise BALTOPS 20
Image Source: Photo: commons.wikimedia.org/LPhot Dan Rosenbaum/MOD
According to the source of Izvestia in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the declared duty of the permanent NATO squadron in the Baltic looks like a "paper tiger", since Britain and its allies do not have enough ships in combat readiness for this today.
— According to our data, the British Navy has no more than half of the list of ships in the line of constant readiness, the rest are either being repaired or waiting for repairs. I doubt that they will be able to maintain the level of constant combat duty in the Baltic, the announced mission is more like a one-time PR campaign," our interlocutor noted.
The officer said that now part of the British fleet is operating in the North Atlantic, deterring the forces of the Russian Northern Fleet, catching boats with illegal migrants trying to reach Britain in the English Channel and the North Sea.
The actions of the Houthis in the Red Sea also added to the worries of the Royal Navy. As it became known to Izvestia, last week the British Admiralty sent the destroyer Diamond (HMS Diamond), one of the most modern and largest surface ships of its fleet, to the Red Sea.
To the Baltic shores, the British were able to equip only outdated types of ships without shock missile weapons, which will complement the forces of the Young NATO members: Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia.
The Baltic Watch
JEF is an international military coalition created in 2014 by the United Kingdom. It also includes Estonia, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland.
To participate in the Baltic patrol, Great Britain equipped a task force of six ships. It included the frigates "Richmond" (HMS Richmond) and "Somerset" (HMS Somerset), the maritime patrol vessels "Tyne" (HMS Tyne) and "Severn" (HMS Severn), the minesweepers "Cattistock" (HMS Cattistock), "Penzance" (HMS Penzance), as well as the auxiliary amphibious the ship "Mounts Bay" (RFA Mounts Bay).
The actions of the surface forces will be supported by the Royal Air Force P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
The British frigate HMS Richmond in Portsmouth harbor
Image Source: Photo: commons.wikimedia.org/Les Chatfield
The Richmond has already stopped in Gothenburg, Sweden, to replenish supplies and take on board a delegation of JEF representatives.
— We are all aware of the importance of infrastructure systems under the waters of the Baltic Sea, providing communication, transmission of electricity and fuel. The joint protection of these systems is important for regional security," Commander Chris L'ami, commander of the Richmond, outlined the patrol objectives.
In total, 20 ships are planned to be involved in the patrol. The British squadron is going to work closely with the naval forces of the Baltic states.
Royal Air Force P-8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft
Image source: Photo: commons.wikimedia.org/SAC Ciaran McFalls/MOD
In particular, the Estonian Ministry of Defense has already announced that its naval forces will send two ships to the patrol zone. Sweden has promised to provide two multi-purpose corvettes of the Visby type.
The ships that NATO has sent to the Baltic Sea do not pose a military threat to Russia, Admiral Valentin Selivanov, former chief of the General Staff of the Navy, told Izvestia.
"They can be destroyed without even involving the Baltic Fleet ships,— he explained. — Coastal-based anti-ship missile systems and aviation will be enough for this. It will not be difficult to track and escort them, so there will be no problems with targeting. Under the USSR, when our fleet was larger and a significant part of the Baltic Sea coast belonged to us and the Warsaw Pact countries, NATO did not even plan to send its ships to the Baltic. It was clear to everyone what was waiting for them.
Intricate maneuvers
The activity of NATO and JEF ships and aircraft increased after the accident on the Finnish-Estonian underwater gas pipeline Baltikkonector, which was opened at the end of 2019 to reduce Finland's dependence on Russian gas supplies.
Its operation was stopped on October 8 after a sharp drop in pressure in the system. Two days later, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said that the reason could be "external influence." Now the authorities of Finland and Estonia have combined the investigation of a gas pipeline rupture with damage to an underwater telecommunications cable that occurred at the same time.
The damaged section of the Baltikkonector gas pipeline
Image source: Photo: REUTERS
A few days after the incident, the Chinese container ship Newnew Polar Bear was among the suspects in the damage to the gas pipeline — it was spotted in St. Petersburg without an anchor. A few days later, a similar anchor was found at the bottom of the sea next to the Baltikconector. At that time, foreign media reported on the alleged trace of the Russian special services in this accident.
It is noteworthy that on October 7, the Russian Kingisepp – Kaliningrad communication cable was damaged in the Gulf of Finland, part of which runs through the economic zones of Finland and Sweden. His work was restored within a week.
On October 19, after the incident with the gas pipeline, NATO announced an increased military presence in the Baltic Sea. For this purpose, four minesweepers, drones and AWACS long-range radar detection aircraft were additionally involved.
From November 20 to December 1, NATO exercises Freezing Winds 23 ("Icy Winds 23") took place in the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland, in which 30 warships and more than 4 thousand military personnel participated. Izvestia experts then suggested that the purpose of the exercises was to train for the blockade of the Kaliningrad region from the sea and practice landing on Russian islands in the Gulf of Finland.
Chinese container ship Newnew Polar Bear in the Baltic Sea
Image source: Photo: REUTERS
The protection of underwater communications is nothing more than an excuse to increase the presence of JEF in the Baltic, and the meaning of such events is a demonstration of Russia's strength, former Deputy UN Secretary General Sergei Ordzhonikidze told Izvestia.
"All this is being planned in order to show us that they will not let the Baltic Fleet act calmly," the diplomat clarified. — This is not the first and not the last demonstration of the threat from the north and the support of its eastern allies — the same Baltic countries. NATO has an advantage in the number of ships in this region, which they show. But all these maneuvers will remain within the framework of the exercises. In practice, in the event of a serious escalation, we will use the entire arsenal of weapons, and the situation will not look like what Western countries would like.
To strengthen the Russian Navy, large amphibious ships are being built at the Baltic shipyard Yantar in Kaliningrad, which will be able to carry a flight of attack helicopters. The BDK of project 11711 "Vladimir Andreev" and "Vasily Trushin" will be able to carry a link of four newest Ka-52M attack helicopters or five Ka-27 anti-submarine helicopters. These ships will join the fleet in 2024-2025.
Andrey Krasnobaev
Bogdan Stepovoy
Julia Leonova