Moscow accused NATO of developing new ways to target Russia’s maritime infrastructure and oil tankers.
In an interview with National Defense newspaper on March 13, Nikolay Patrushev, a senior aide to the Russian President, accused NATO of developing new methods to confront Russia, specifically through underwater operations targeting pipelines and oil tankers.
NATO countries have been carrying out cyber attacks on Russian ships’ navigation equipment, with the ultimate goal of causing emergency situations, he said.
“Their navy is planning to step up operations against Russian submarine pipelines, tankers and dry cargo ships,” he said.
According to him, these actions are aimed at disrupting the process of normalizing Russia-US relations and negotiations to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
Last month, Deputy Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Alexander Molchanov, similarly warned that NATO was developing doctrines to conduct undersea operations.
In January, NATO announced it would increase regular patrols in the Baltic Sea after several incidents of submarine cables being damaged. Some members of the alliance blamed Russia. However, subsequent investigations found no evidence of Moscow’s involvement.
The Kremlin also denied the allegations, stressing that Moscow had no intention of targeting the infrastructure of NATO countries.
In contrast, Moscow has repeatedly criticized NATO’s military buildup near Russia’s borders, saying such actions threaten regional stability.
