Russian Digest
Norway Defense confirms: Russia had special vessel near Nord Stream's detonation point
The Russian special craft SS-750, which has a mini-submarine on board, was photographed near the place where the Nord Stream pipes were sabotaged, the Defense Command confirms
The Russian special vessel SS-750 was near the Nord Stream pipes four days before the pipes were blown up on September 26 last year. The special vessel is designed to carry out operations under the sea and has a mini-submarine of the AS-26 Priz type on board.
The Norwegian Defense Command confirms in response to a document inspection that 26 photos of the Russian vessel were taken from a Danish patrol boat that was in the area east of Bornholm on 22 September 2022.
"It's incredibly interesting. The SS-750 is a special vessel that is designed precisely for underwater operations,' says the Swedish researcher, Russia expert, and intelligence expert Joakim von Braun.
Jacob Kaarsbo, who is a senior analyst at the think tank Europe and previously worked for 15 years in the Defense Intelligence Service, believes that the information "sheds light on what was going on in the area in the days before".
"The SS-750 is the most interesting vessel to confirm because we know it has the capacity to carry out such an operation," says Jacob Kaarsbo.
Information has previously revealed that the Norwegian Defense Command is in possession of 112 images of Russian vessels in the area. But this is the first time that the defense has confirmed that it is the specific Russian vessel SS-750 with the mini-submarine on board.
At the same time, the Norwegian Defense Command refuses to provide access to the photos of the Russian special vessel, as the photos are "of an intelligence nature" and "are part of the intelligence work".
Several Russian naval vessels
The German media T-Online and the open-source intelligence analyst Oliver Alexander have previously described that the special vessel SS-750 was one of a total of six Russian naval vessels that may have been in the area in the days leading up to the blasting of the pipelines. They based this, among other things, on information from anonymous sources and satellite images that showed that SS-750 had left the port in Kaliningrad at the same time as, among others, the vessels Aleksandr Frolov and SB-123.
These satellite photos, along with AIS data from a tugboat, indicate that SS-750 sailed from Kaliningrad at 00:22 on 21 September 2022. AIS transmitters are typically used by larger vessels to supplement radars. They send signals about the ship's name, number, direction, draft, and speed and can thus be used to map the movement of vessels.
The SS-750 sailed even without the AIS on. However, the tug Alexandr Frolov had its AIS on when departing from the Russian naval port. AIS data from this vessel shows that the convoy of naval vessels headed for Bornholm, but north of Poland, the tug's AIS was also switched off. Until now, it has been assumed that the SS-750 and the five other vessels continued to the area where the Nord Stream pipes were blown up a few days later. Now the Defense Command has confirmed that the SS-750 was observed in the area.
"This is clear confirmation. That vessel is part of Russia's readiness for submarines and underwater operations. In theory, that vessel may well have been there for other reasons, but the timing to be in exactly that place at that time is special,' says analyst Oliver Alexander.
Joakim von Braun has worked for both the civilian and military Swedish intelligence services and has written textbooks on Russian intelligence services and Russian military underwater activities.
He links the new information that the Danish defense has observed the SS-750 in the area east of Bornholm, together with the previous rumors about the six Russian naval vessels:
"This indicates that much of the information that has come to light earlier is correct. The group of six vessels mentioned is a group assembled for exactly this type of operation. It is very likely that these vessels were involved in the sabotage operation,' says Joakim von Braun.
Several countries sent vessels
The 26 images of SS-750 were taken by the Danish patrol vessel P524 Nymfen on September 22, 2022.
As Information has previously described, it was clear from the reaction of several countries' military units that something suspicious happened around the 21st-22nd. September 2022 in the area east of Bornholm. Within hours, both the Danish, Swedish, and German defense forces sent vessels to the area, which was also patrolled by surveillance aircraft from both Sweden and Poland.
In addition, American vessels were also nearby, just as an American surveillance helicopter was in the air over the Baltic Sea.
The Danish patrol vessel P524 Nymfen sailed from Rødbyhavn on 21 September in the evening and arrived in the area east of Bornholm shortly after six o'clock in the morning.
The patrol boat sailed back and forth in an area south and east of the detonation points and at one point slowed down to effectively lie still in the area.
It is therefore somewhere on that route that the Russian vessel has been photographed. It is not yet known what the Defence's remaining 86 images of Russian vessels contain.
The defense command has so far not wanted to go into detail about what P524 Nymfen did in the area but has simply replied in writing:
"P524 Nymfen's movement around 22 September 2022 followed the normal task solution for the unit deployed as part of water surveillance in Danish waters."
However, data shows that it was the first time P524 Nymph was in the area in five years. Jacob Kaarsbo also assesses the sailing pattern of both the Danish patrol boat and the international vessels as highly unusual.
"Apparently, both Denmark and Sweden are patrolling according to a pattern that is far from normal. It is not a place where neither the Swedes nor the Danes usually come out. The normal picture on a completely normal day in September is that something like this doesn't happen,' he says.
Information has previously asked the Defense Command if the P524 Nymfen was sent out to repel the Russian vessel SS-750 equipped with a mini-submarine and up to five other Russian naval vessels that may have been present at the same time.
But the Defense Command will not answer that.
The Nord Stream explosions are currently being investigated by both Danish, Swedish, and German authorities. It is not known when these investigations will be completed.
In outrageous news …
Putin signed a decree to evict Ukrainian residents from occupied territories of Ukraine for refusing to swear allegiance to Russia
Vladimir Putin signed a decree that provides for the deportation of Ukrainian citizens from the annexed territories if they are considered a "security threat."
According to the document, residents of the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, who do not have Russian citizenship, are recognized as "foreigners" and must receive a passport before July 1, 2024. If they don't, they could be deported.
According to Putin's decree, people are now considered "foreigners":
who lived on their own land at the time of the annexation of these territories to Russia;
who lived before but left for Russia;
who wished to retain the citizenship of Ukraine and refused to "take the oath of a citizen of the Russian Federation."
Ukrainians without a Russian passport are ordered to apply for a residence permit. They will have to undergo fingerprint registration and provide a package of documents translated into Russian.
The decree provides grounds for the expulsion of foreigners and stateless persons from the occupied territories. In particular, people can be evicted if they are deemed to pose a threat to national security, advocate forcible change in the foundations of Russia's constitutional order, or support terrorist or extremist activities.
In addition, deportation threatens those who “encroach on public order,” including participants in uncoordinated rallies and pickets. Where they are going to be deported is not specified in the decree.
Putin annexed four regions of Ukraine on September 30, 2022. However, none of them was ever 100% controlled by the Russian army. The exact borders and population of these territories are still unknown. Accession was recognized only by North Korea and Syria, and condemned by 143 UN countries. In the near future, a large-scale counteroffensive of Ukraine is expected - Kyiv expects to return all the lands within the 1991 borders.
US sanctions Russia's FSB for taking Americans 'hostage'
The United States imposed new sanctions on Russia's FSB intelligence agency and Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Thursday. The US accused both of being responsible for taking "hostage" Americans overseas.
With the new sanctions, the US is "showing that one cannot engage in this sort of awful behavior of using human beings as pawns, as bargaining chips, without paying consequences," a senior US official told reporters.
The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia last month on charges of 'spying'.
Basketball superstar Brittney Griner urged 'wrongfully detained' Americans in Russia to "stay strong, keep fighting, don't give up" on Thursday in her first press conference since being released as part of a prisoner swap last year.
The US Treasury also sanctioned four top officials of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence body.
"Today's action targets senior officials and security services in Iran and Russia that are responsible for the hostage-taking or wrongful detention of US nationals abroad," said Brian Nelson, Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
Read More:
https://www.dw.com/en/us-sanctions-russias-fsb-for-taking-americans-hostage/a-65456187
Cyprus Bracing for More Sanctions in Response to Enforcement Failures
More than 14 months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the unprecedented response it triggered from the West, law firms in Cyprus may still be offering services to sanctioned oligarchs and now fear they will themselves be targeted by sanctions.
Although the Eastern Mediterranean island and EU member has in 2016 criminalized the violation of U.N. and EU sanctions, it was still rocked by the imposition of U.S. and U.K. sanctions on a number of services providers on April 12 because law and accounting firms are among the main driving forces of the country’s services-driven economy.
The government held several meetings in recent weeks discussing how to contain the damage eventual sanctions would cause.
A report in Thursday’s Politis cited the chairman of the Cyprus Bar Association Christos Clerides who said that last year, 35 law firms disclosed that they were offering services to 35 sanctioned oligarchs.
Read More:
Iranian Forces Seize Marshall Islands-Flagged Oil Tanker In Gulf Of Oman
Iranian forces have seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in international waters in the Gulf of Oman, the U.S. Navy and Iranian state media reported on April 27, the latest string of hijackings in the region began in 2019 after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
Iranian state media said the Iranian army’s naval force seized the vessels after a collision with an Iranian boat. Two members of the boat's crew are missing, and several other crewmen were injured in the collision, state media said.
The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet also reported the seizure but did not mention a collision. The 5th Fleet identified the tanker as the Advantage Sweet and said the seizure was carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
The Advantage Sweet issued a distress call at 1:15 p.m. local time while in international waters as Iran seized the vessel, the 5th Fleet said in a statement.
"Iran's actions are contrary to international law and disruptive to regional security and stability," the 5th Fleet said. "Iran should immediately release the oil tanker."
Read More:
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-seizes-marshall-islands-oil-tanker-gulf-oman/32382373.html
Russian spies targeted French MPs despite clampdown after Ukraine war
France’s head of domestic intelligence lifts the veil on Russian intelligence operations in France.
French politicians continue to be a prime target of Russian espionage efforts despite a crackdown on Moscow’s operations in France, newly released documents show.
French intelligence services have detected Russian spies trying to make contact with French lawmakers in recent months and have led operations to raise awareness among MPs on the risks of foreign interference, according to transcripts of parliamentary hearings released Thursday.
The head of France’s national intelligence service the DGSI warned MPs at a hearing in February that Russia was the most active foreign power, with “several dozen officers from Russia’s three intelligence agencies” using diplomatic cover to infiltrate France’s political system, the documents reveal. China, also a focus of the DGSI, was less likely to use officers under diplomatic cover, according to the hearings which were redacted before publication.
Read More:
Bulgarian Foreign Minister: Bulgaria faces 'unprecedented increase' in Russian hybrid attacks
Acting Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Milkov said Russian hybrid attacks have increased, according to Bulgarian news agency Novinite.
The increase in hybrid attacks is "aimed at undermining Bulgaria's stability and thereby (its) democratic values and processes," Milkov said during a security conference on April 27.
"Russia uses a full arsenal of hybrid tactics, instrumentalization of energy and basic food supplies, cyber activities of control over sensitive technologies, unprecedented strengthening of propaganda aimed at internal political destabilization of our societies — provoking discontent and reducing solidarity with Ukraine," Milkov said.
Milkov added that Bulgaria will reach the 2 percent threshold of military spending next year.
On March 26, the Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine (CERT-UA) registered more than 300 cyber attacks in the first two months of 2023.
According to the response team, these attacks are a key strategy of Russia's war on Ukraine and have been used to destabilize the country and undermine support for Ukraine.
Neighboring Moldova has also been the target of Russian hybrid attacks aimed at destabilizing the country and decreasing support for Ukraine.
Moscow airports hit by drones
Near Moscow airports, unknown drones began to appear. One of the drones was seen dangerously close to the plane of the Pobeda airline, which took off from Sheremetyevo, the Shot telegram channel writes, citing the pilot.
The commander of the aircraft specified that the incident occurred on April 22: the drone flew about 120 meters under its side, at an altitude of 600 meters from the ground. The pilot decided to continue the flight to Vladikavkaz, where he landed successfully.
A similar incident occurred in Domodedovo. On approaching the airport, a NordStar Boeing pilot spotted a white drone. The plane was at an altitude of about 2000 meters, the drone flew lower. The commander decided to land as planned. Flight Ufa - Moscow successfully landed at Domodedovo. The police are looking for the man who launched the drone.
On April 23, near the city of Elektrougli, Bogorodsk District, Moscow Region, a Ukrainian UJ-22 Airborn aircraft-type drone filled with 17 kg of C-4 explosives fell. The drone flew from the northeast side, skirting Moscow in a semicircle, then it ran out of fuel.
On April 27, the German newspaper Bild wrote that the drone that crashed was supposed to kill Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was about to visit the Rudnevo industrial park in eastern Moscow. According to the publication, the assassination attempt was organized by the Ukrainian special services.
A source from the VChK-OGPU telegram channel close to law enforcement agencies said that since the drone crashed in the Moscow region, the number of reports and incidents with drones has increased significantly. According to him, large aircraft-type UAVs were seen in the sky in the area of Stupin, Serpukhov, Pushkin, Staraya Kupavna, and even over the Moscow Ring Road. Visually, they do not differ from the fallen drone: with two wings and gray (silver) color.
“Such an air show with unidentified and apparently military foreign UAVs sends those responsible for Moscow’s “air shield” into hysterics,” the source says. At the same time, he notes that emergencies also happen with domestic drones. So, on April 25, civilians found an aircraft-type UAV in the Mozhaisk urban district. The task force determined that it was the Eleron-3 Russian short-range aerial reconnaissance and surveillance complex belonging to the Ministry of Defense, which crashed.
https://www.moscowtimes.ru/2023/04/27/neizvestnie-droni-ugrozhayut-samoletam-vmoskve-a41453
PACE calls deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia genocide
The practice of forcibly transferring Ukrainian children to the territory of Russia corresponds to the international definition of genocide. This is stated in the resolution adopted on April 27 by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
According to the document, there is evidence that the deported children face a process of "Russification": in particular, they are retrained in Russian or forbidden to speak Ukrainian.
The PACE resolution notes that the export of Ukrainian children is clearly part of the state policy of the Russian Federation. The purpose of these movements, the authors of the document believe, is to “destroy all ties and features of their Ukrainian identity.”
The resolution also welcomes the decision of the International Criminal Court in The Hague to issue warrants for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova because of the deportations of Ukrainian children in March. The ICC indictment qualifies their actions as war crimes, not genocide.
The Russian authorities do not deny that they are taking children out of the occupied Ukrainian territories, but they claim that this is an evacuation in order to ensure their safety.
https://meduza.io/news/2023/04/27/pase-nazvala-genotsidom-deportatsiyu-ukrainskih-detey-v-rossiyu
Russia and Iran held an expert conference. Hackers intervened: “Write wills, SBU will come for everyone”
Hackers hacked the broadcast of the expert conference "Russian-Iranian cooperation in a changing world" and threatened its participants that "the SBU will come for them." The corresponding video was published by the Trukha telegram channel.
The conference, organized with the support of Rosatom, was held on 25 April. It was attended, in particular, by State Duma Deputy Konstantin Zasulin, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalaly, employees of the Russian government apparatus, and experts.
During the conference, a hacker joined the broadcast, which was conducted via Zoom, and said that he wanted to “thank the organizers for inviting the Ukrainian side, namely for the opportunity for the Ukrainian Security Service to participate in this event.”
“Don’t worry, the SBU will come after every war criminal and their accomplice, so get ready, write wills, sign off on children and wives what you have,” the voice said. He also promised that Iran would "pay" for the supply of drones to Russia and that each participant in the conference "would end up in the Peacemaker and never again visit any civilized country."
The authenticity of the published video has not been confirmed. Officially, the organizers of the conference did not report any attacks.
Ukrainian hackers regularly hack into live broadcasts in the Russian Federation, including broadcasts viewed by a wide audience. For example, on February 23, in annexed Crimea, a message was broadcast on the air by the head of military intelligence of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, in which he promised to "eliminate the traitors." In January, hackers interrupted the broadcasting of Russian TV channels in the Belgorod region and showed an address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In October 2022, in the Novosibirsk region, hackers broadcast an appeal to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.