Nikolai Patrushev: The Baltic Sea as an Arena of Undeclared Hybrid War

Article in Kommersant

Assistant to the President of Russia and Chairman of the Marine Board Nikolai Patrushev has written a short article for Kommersant dealing again with the Nord Stream Terrorist attack and other possibilities that might occur in the Baltic Sea.

The flow of information hype around the unexpected activity of the German investigative authorities, who identified the alleged participants in the operations to blow up the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, does not subside. Journalists turn to the Maritime Board, asking legitimate questions: should we trust the data that saboteurs who committed terrorist attacks in the depths of the sea were really found, and what is behind this stage of the investigation?

Let me remind you that states interested in finding real information about what happened in September 2022 were not allowed to investigate the sabotage at Nord Stream and familiarize themselves with the materials of criminal cases.

The latter unequivocally accuses a group of Ukrainian citizens who allegedly chartered a yacht for a cruise in the Baltic Sea using a fake Romanian passport. On the pier, located a hundred meters from the NATO naval base in Rostock, Germany, the alleged saboteurs, remaining unnoticed, without any problems load diving equipment, several hundred kilograms of explosives, and other necessary equipment and calmly go out to sea. Somehow, they discover the gas pipeline without confusing it with the other pipelines and cable routes that abound in the area. In the conditions of busy shipping, they make repeated dives, fixing charges on the gas pipeline, and safely return to port.

I don't know who these leaks to the press are intended for, but competent people have many questions. Who, for example, allowed Ukrainian saboteurs to operate so freely on the territory of another state? It turns out that the NATO Navy cannot provide security around its bases, and the German authorities are not able to control what foreigners are doing on their territory. Or was all this activity planned, controlled and carried out with the participation of highly professional representatives of the NATO special services?

We are definitely talking about a sabotage act, carried out at a very professional level. The destruction of a section of an underwater pipeline is a rather difficult task in itself, especially if the most inconspicuous work is required without the involvement of a specially equipped vessel. In the case of Nord Stream, this task was obviously solved by a high-class team of saboteurs with extensive experience in working at considerable depths and in the difficult hydrological conditions of the Baltic Sea.

Not every army or special service in the world has swimmers who are able to competently and, most importantly, covertly carry out such an action.

One intelligence service capable of accomplishing this task is the famous British Special Boat Service.

This is one of the oldest naval sabotage units, which made itself known during World War II. British saboteurs became famous for their ability to carry out attacks using the most unpretentious means such as boats and kayaks, which is why the service was called boating. And after the war, its fighters adopted first-hand the experience of their former opponents—the Germans and especially the Italians from the 10th MAS Flotilla, whose veterans, let me remind you, are reasonably suspected of involvement in the explosion of the Soviet battleship Novorossiysk. There is a well-known fact of an attempt to sabotage in the English Portsmouth against the cruiser Ordzhonikidze, on board of which was the head of the USSR N.S. Khrushchev.

By the way, now they prefer not to remember that literally on the eve of the Nord Stream explosion, NATO naval exercises were held in this area of the Baltic. It should also be noted that the arrested Ukrainians themselves stated that the investigation being carried out against them is aimed at placing the blame on Ukraine and covering up the real organizers and participants of the terrorist attack, who are interested in increasing tensions in the Baltic. An analysis of the situation in the region confirms their words.

It is known that the sabotage on the Nord Streams was only a prologue to a new and unprecedented in modern history round of tension in the Baltic direction. A string of bizarre incidents involving submarine cables and incidents involving Russian ships suggest that the West is serious about raising the stakes, making the Baltic Sea an arena for an undeclared hybrid war. [My Emphasis]

Interesting historical facts to color the article. I wonder what other nuggets lurk in the archives awaiting their moment of revelation. Clearly, Russia is defending the framed Ukrainians from being made patsies for an act Team Biden is responsible for and who knows how many more within NATO. But why focus on the Brits when the ships involved were USN? Deference to Trump? Why? He’s a genocidal maniac! It appears all NATO has left in its armory are limpet mines and other similar devices. Which NATO fool will again try something? Will Russia create a trap?

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