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Whos gonna save the world tonight remix6/10/2023 But Britain’s history is unique and our naval experience unrivalled, especially among our northern European allies. All these sea-faring countries have a vested interest in preventing Russian ocean sabotage. The truth is that maritime defence is an area where Britain can naturally lead, working especially with our Scandinavian, North Sea and Baltic allies in the ten-nation Joint Expeditionary Force. Could we really risk war on a suspicion? Putin knows this.Īs a result of the Telegraph story that broke the news of the underwater mapping, I have put down Written Parliamentary Questions to ask about capabilities for underwater cable protection, when our undersea cable protection platform will be fully operational, and if and when a second will enter service. How would the UK or Nato respond to shadowy groups conducting cyber attacks across the UK or Europe that result in physical damage or destruction of fuel storage depots? Or a series of unexplained glitches or failures on underwater cables? Would a military response be feasible, as Admiral Tony Radakin argued last year? We still don’t know who sabotaged the Nord Steam 2 pipeline. My fear is that Putin is gauging options to attack the West, should he wish to escalate, without triggering a Nato military response. Behind them will be Russia’s overseas spy agency, the SVR, its internal agency, the FSB, or the bloodthirsty but sloppy GRU, responsible for the Skripal poisoning. Russia has long used organised crime to do its dirty work, and with the global growth of the Wagner mercenary group, the “unofficial arms” of the Russian state will only increase. It has been clear for years that both Russian official and illicit groups operate under the Kremlin’s control. It reflects the belief that, according to the head of Russia’s Armed Forces, the “very rules of war” have changed. It is a form of total war, using everything from culture to cyber to conventional conflict. Current Russian military thinking sees conflict as combining military and non-military tools of state power – the “unification of everything” – into a seamless whole to serve the Kremlin’s aims. We were assured that wind farms would bolster our energy security, but few considered their military exposure.įor two decades, Putin has laid the groundwork for unconventional warfare. There are more communications cables, about 70 in all, but a relatively small number of deep-sea sabotage operations could bring our world to a halt without a shot being fired. Five interconnectors deliver electricity to and from the UK and Europe (and one more between Britain and Ireland). For example, just three pipelines deliver 43 per cent of our baseline gas supply. The underwater arteries of modern civilisation are surprisingly few. Apart from food, the daily critical requirements of modern society are energy and communications. Russia is probing for European vulnerabilities. But the Nato alliance remains dangerously exposed at sea. Were the worst to happen, they will be ready to defend European soil. Some of our closest allies, such as Poland, are re-arming on land at an unprecedented rate. War in Ukraine opened our eyes – just this week Cabinet Office Secretary Oliver Dowden gave an “unprecedented” warning of cyber threats to our national infrastructure and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has been consistently robust – but there is much more we can do. Our collective response over too much of the past 15 years was one of denial, oiled and encouraged by Russian money and influence in the US, UK and EU. Our world is becoming markedly more dangerous. That does not mean that conflict will happen –preparation makes it less likely – but we must urgently recognise the extent of the threat to the current order. The sobering truth is that our potential adversaries, Russia in the West and China in the East, are gearing up for wider conflict. There can be only one reason for this – to learn how to sabotage UK and European critical infrastructure in the event of a full-scale war with the West. Now we know for certain: Russian spy ships are mapping wind farms and key cables off the British coast.
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