‘It’s Our Backyard’: On Board a Lithuanian Patrol for Russian Hybrid Threats in the Baltic

BALTIC SEA — Through Captain Arunas’ binoculars, visibility is adjacent to zero: "One kilometer, nary more." 

The heavy fog hanging implicit the Baltic Sea complicates the patrol for the 50 sailors aboard the Jotvingis. Their ngo aboard the Lithuanian Navy bid vessel: preventing hybrid threats arsenic portion of NATO's Baltic Sentinel operation.

On the horizon, a ample achromatic silhouette emerges from the wintertime gray. Yet the bid span remains inactive. The instrumentality vessel has conscionable near Klaipeda, Lithuania’s third-largest metropolis and its Navy’s location base. 

"No request to cheque this 1 — it answered our vigor telephone earlier," the skipper says. The monolithic vas disappears into the mist.

Off the Lithuanian coast, subject unit guarantee nary vessel displays threatening enactment wrong their exclusive economical zone. 

"It's similar our backyard. If we consciousness it’s nether threat, it's atrocious for our people, and we volition react," the skipper says, eyes scanning the horizon.

Russia’s territorial waters prevarication 40 kilometers to the south. The exclave of Kaliningrad sandwiched betwixt Lithuania and Poland is location to portion of Moscow’s Navy.

On this freezing January morning, defender shifts connected platform consciousness interminable. Upon rotation, the sailors rapidly retreat wrong the ship, wherever officers scrutinize radar screens, searching for suspicious vessels.

Covert tactics successful the Baltic

If the Jotvingis and the twelve different Lithuanian Navy vessels stay connected precocious alert, it is due to the fact that tensions successful the Baltic Sea are astatine historical levels. 

Since Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful 2022 and NATO’s consequent enlargement to Sweden and Finland, these shallow waters person become a signifier for hybrid warfare, with attacks powerfully suggesting Russian involvement.

"We are facing hybrid scenarios that were not connected our radar a fewer years ago. Underwater infrastructure is the archetypal target," Admiral Giedrius Premeneckas says successful the officers’ lounge. 

Bordered by 9 countries, the Baltic Sea is crisscrossed with electrical and connection cables. All of the 4 incidents involving them successful the past 3 years person been attributed to Russia’s shadiness fleet. 

These ships, flying overseas flags, transport hydrocarbons that fill Moscow’s coffers. Often aging, poorly insured and operating extracurricular ineligible oversight, they let Russia to bypass Western lipid sanctions.

The astir caller incidental took place connected Sunday, erstwhile a fiber-optic submarine cablegram linking Ventspils, Latvia, to Sweden’s Gotland Island was damaged. Swedish authorities detained the Michelis San, a bulk bearer sailing nether the Maltese flag.

A period earlier connected Dec. 25, the Estlink 2 powerfulness cablegram betwixt Finland and Estonia was severed. Finnish authorities reported that an lipid tanker, the Eagle S, dragged its anchor on the seabed for 60 miles earlier it latched onto the cables. The Cook Islands-flagged tanker was described by Finnish customs officials arsenic portion of Russia’s shadiness fleet.

Carrying lipid and state successful defiance of planetary sanctions, the vas remains docked on the Finnish coast pending investigative results. Fingrid, Finland’s authorities energy operator, estimates the damaged cable’s repair could past until precocious July and cost tens of millions of euros.

On Nov. 17, Lithuania besides fell unfortunate to sabotage erstwhile the 218-kilometer BCS fiber-optic cablegram linking Sweden’s Gotland Island to Lithuania was severed. Just hours later, astatine 4:04 a.m. the adjacent day, the C-Lion1 cable connecting Helsinki, Finland, to Rostock, Germany, was besides damaged.

Operation Baltic Sentinel

As of 2023, each Baltic Sea federation but Russia is simply a NATO member. 

In effect to escalating hybrid attacks, leaders of the region’s 8 NATO nations announced a acceptable of information measures including Operation Baltic Sentinel astatine the Baltic Allies Summit successful Helsinki connected Jan. 14, aimed astatine deterring aboriginal sabotage.

“Since the opening of June, we person inspected much than 300 tankers and boarded 7 of them,” Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said astatine the summit’s property conference.

As portion of Operation Baltic Sentinel, frigates, maritime patrol craft and a fleet of tiny naval drones volition beryllium deployed. 

On the Jotvingis, the usage of 1 specified naval drone is important for inspecting underwater infrastructure. 

"It tin descend 55 meters,” the commandant explains, lasting beside a motorboat boat. “Then, utilizing a sonar system, it scans the cables, transmitting their information implicit a circumstantial area."

Once successful the water, the torpedo-like instrumentality is controlled done a smartphone app. That day, nary harm was detected connected the cables 50 meters beneath the vessel.

In immoderate operations, the Jotvingis besides monitors the shadiness fleet, though it does not committee the ships. 

"We way them connected radar, past behaviour a ocular inspection astatine sea. We question the skipper and relay each accusation to the authorities," Admiral Premeneckas says.

These "authorities" are the NATO headquarters. A associated NATO-EU database has been compiled to place ships suspected of operating nether Kremlin influence. 

"It's a peculiar list, shared by the European Union and NATO subordinate states: the 'Shadow Fleet' list. For each inspection, we cheque whether the vessel is listed," the admiral says. 

Nearly 100 vessels are presently connected the list, though the existent fleet is believed to fig successful the hundreds.

Hybrid warfare

Hybrid warfare, arsenic chiefly conducted by Russia against the West, blends accepted subject tactics with cyberattacks, disinformation, economical unit and covert sabotage. Mark Galeotti, a specializer successful Russian information affairs, has described it arsenic “political warfare utilizing each means abbreviated of unfastened war.”

Dressed successful his highest naval uniform, Admiral Premeneckas besides notes the biology risks posed by the outdated, poorly insured and hardly maintained ships of Russia’s shadiness fleet. 

"The Baltic is simply a confined sea, meaning a large lipid spill could origin an biology catastrophe," helium says.

On Jan. 12, 3 German rescue vessels escorted the Eventin, carrying 99,000 tons of crude oil, to forestall a spill. 

Following the incident, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock slammed Russia for "endangering European information not lone with its warfare of aggression against Ukraine but besides with decrepit tankers."

Between 2022 and precocious 2024, nearly 60 hybrid attacks attributed to Russian quality agencies, primarily the GRU and FSB, targeted Europe, with tactics ranging from carnal sabotage to cyberattacks and predetermination interference.

"With these operations, Russia is escalating its hybrid warfare successful Europe, conducting attacks connected an ever-shifting front," said Charlie Edwards, a elder chap astatine the International Institute for Strategic Studies successful London.

That time connected the Jotvingis, nary shadiness fleet vessels were detected. But Captain Arunas remains steadfast. 

"Every Russian cognition volition person a effect from us," helium says.

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