Essay by Eric Worrall

NATO claims Russia has already laid explosive charges, ready to detonate when the Kremlin gives the go order.

Nato fears Russia may have laid mines on critical European undersea infrastructure points

By ELIZABETH HAIGH 
PUBLISHED: 06:15 AEST, 4 May 2023 | UPDATED: 08:55 AEST, 5 May 2023

Russia may have already mined Europe’s critical underwater infrastructure, NATO representatives fear, as its intelligence chief warned on Wednesday Russia may sabotage them to punish Western nations for supporting Ukraine.

The alliance is seeking to boost efforts to protect undersea pipes and cables following attacks on the Nord Stream pipeline in September last year, which saw three of the four main lines which transports gas from Russia to Germany damaged.

Threats to undersea cables and pipelines have become a focus of public attention since the as-yet unexplained explosions crippled the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

The alliance is so concerned by the threat of energy disruption it set up the Critical Undersea Infrastructure Coordination Cell in February, which seeks to monitor Russian espionage under the command of Lieutenant General Hans-Werner Wiermann, a retired German military officer.

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Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12043535/Nato-fears-Russia-laid-mines-critical-European-undersea-infrastructure-points.html

The only question, would Russia mine undersea cables to offshore wind farms, or would they stick to mining useful energy infrastructure like undersea gas pipelines? Perhaps they plan to leave undersea wind alone, in an effort to lure Western nations into committing to more renewables.