The Netherlands said that Russia may be preparing sabotage in the North Sea to disable critical infrastructure. Dutch intelligence says the threat is higher than meets the eye.
This was stated by the director of military intelligence of the Netherlands MIVD, Jan Swillens. Russia is reportedly trying to map the Dutch power supply so it knows where it can sabotage.
Russian ship tried to gather data in the North Sea
Jan Swillens said that a few months ago, a Russian ship in the North Sea was trying to collect data on wind farms. According to him, this was detected in a timely manner and dealt with – the ship was redirected.
This makes it clear that the threat to the Netherlands is higher than it seems at first glance,” said director of military intelligence.
In addition to wind farms, Russia is also interested in mapping Internet cables and gas pipelines. According to the Dutch intelligence services, “preparatory actions for riots and sabotage” are taking place.
Services have been warning for some time that a covert attack on other life support facilities is possible. For example, drinking water supply facilities.
The Netherlands will reduce the number of diplomats in the Russian Embassy
- The Dutch Foreign Ministry announced that the number of diplomats in the Russian Embassy will be reduced. They explained that Russia is again and again trying to secretly employ intelligence officers as diplomats in the Netherlands.
- At the same time, Russia refuses to issue visas to Dutch diplomats to staff the Consulate General in St. Petersburg and the embassy in Moscow.< /li>
- The Dutch government has decided that the Russian embassy in The Hague cannot have more diplomats than the Dutch embassy in Moscow. Thus, a number of Russian diplomats will have to leave the Netherlands.
- Russian diplomats who cannot stay must leave the Netherlands within two weeks. The Russian trade office in Amsterdam is to be closed from 21 February. The Consulate General of the Netherlands in St. Petersburg will close on February 20.
