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NATO Allies Disrupt Russian Naval Exercise Targeting Subsea Cables

4 sources across 4 countries · Japan · Latvia · Ukraine · United Kingdom

Who reported this

  • The Japan Times Japan · Centre · News2u Holdings
  • Meduza Latvia · Centre-left · Crowdfunded; exiled Russian newsroom
  • Kyiv Independent Ukraine · Centre · Reader-funded, journalist-owned
  • Reuters United Kingdom · Centre · Thomson Reuters Corporation

What the colours mean

  • Left
  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
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NATO allies disrupted a Russian military operation in the northern Atlantic Ocean in April that involved testing technology designed to disable undersea communications cables. The operation took place near the Svalbard archipelago, where fiber optic cables connect the islands to mainland Norway. According to Western officials, the Russian Defense Ministry's Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research, known as GUGI, used deep sea submersibles to simulate the deployment of a secret weapon. British military forces and their NATO allies detected a Russian submarine that was used to divert attention from two underwater vehicles active in the area. No cables were damaged during the event. Britain, Norway, and the United States tracked and confronted the Russian vessels, leading the submarines to leave the area. Norwegian Defense Minister Tore Sandvik stated that Russia was made aware that any attempt to target critical infrastructure would be detected and met with consequences. The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to requests for comment. While center lean sources described the event as a foiled sabotage plot, center left sources framed the incident as a test of new technology.

How each side framed it

Centre-left
This outlet framed the event as a test of new military technology.
Centre
These outlets framed the event as a foiled sabotage plot involving a secret weapon.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.