From this evening, the audience will be able to watch a new documentary co-financed by DR that lifts the lid on ongoing Russian espionage in the Nordics.
It reveals how the country’s military program uses ‘ghost boats’ to gain an overview of the region’s infrastructure, mapping gas pipelines, essential cables and offshore wind farms in the waters around Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden.
The risk is that Russia could use the knowledge to sabotage the region by cutting power supplies and severing key cables.
Withholding their location
A joint operation by the Nordic TV stations DR, NRK, SVT and Yle intercepted radio communications from the Russian Navy, which confirmed operations involving the ‘ghost ships’ switching off their AIS transmitters to withhold their location.
In one such case in November, DR was able to confirm the location of the Russian naval vessel ‘Admiral Vladimirsky’ in Danish waters by intercepting its radio messages with a naval base in Russia.
DR reporters approached the vessel just north of Sjællands Odde on the island’s northwestern tip, where they were confronted by armed personnel.
Espionage could paralyze Danish society
Anders Henriksen, who is head of counterintelligence in PET’s intelligence service, believes that sabotage is a clear possibility if Russia were to go to war with the West.
“In the event of a conflict with the West, they are ready and know where to intervene if they want to paralyze Danish society,” he says to DR.
“This is a very important strategic capability that is directly controlled by Moscow,” added Nils Andreas Stensønes, head of Pet’s Norwegian counterpart, NIS.
The first episode of ‘The Shadow War’ can be streamed on DRTV from 21:25.
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Source: The Nordic Page