A network of Russian spies has been identified in Norway
The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) has detected Russian intelligence agents in the Western part of the country. The special service believes that Russia may be preparing sabotage against critical infrastructure. This was told by the head of the PST in Western Norway Torgils Lutrow in an interview with NRK.
The county is home to northern Europe's largest naval base, Håkonsvern, as well as important oil and gas facilities such as Mongstad, Kolsnes and Sture, and power plants and other electricity-related facilities.
"We see that some of Russia's intentions may be to prepare acts of sabotage. They are operating throughout the area and moving around," Luthro said.
Specifically, the PST says it has unmasked several Russian agents. Their number is not named.
Loutro believes that in addition to personal gain, Russia wants to hamper Norway's reputation with its allies. It is clear that one of Russia's goals is to make us look bad. They will try to show that we are not in control of ourselves, or that we cannot help our allies with exports in potential future situations," he said." he said.
PST says Russian intelligence activity on Norwegian territory has intensified since Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine.
"Russian intelligence agents are working against different targets, such as critical and vulnerable infrastructure and military installations. They also have a clear objective to incriminate Norwegian contingency plans," Luthro said.-
Amid the Russian-Ukrainian war, Norwegian authorities expelled more than 15 employees of the Russian embassy in Norway on suspicion of intelligence activities. As a consequence, Russia has had to rethink its intelligence tools. It is not easy for us to find out who these agents are. They blend in with the crowd, also their job. They do not necessarily have Russian citizenship, but they may be motivated to act on Russia's behalf, for example, with money or threats," Loutro explained.-
Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 04/05/2024
