Norway seizes ship with Russian crew in Baltic Sea cable damage investigation
A Norwegian ship with an all-Russian crew has been seized by police in Norway on suspicion of being involved in damage to an underwater telecoms cable in the Baltic Sea.
The Silver Dania was stopped on Thursday evening and brought into the port of Tromsø in northern Norway on Friday by a Norwegian coast guard vessel, local police said. This action followed a request from Latvian authorities and a ruling by a Norwegian court.
Police in Tromsø said there is a suspicion that the cargo ship — which was sailing between the Russian ports of St. Petersburg and Murmansk — was involved in serious damage on Sunday to the cable that connects Latvia to the Swedish island of Gotland.
Swedish prosecutors announced on Sunday afternoon that they had opened a preliminary investigation into suspected sabotage and ordered the detention of a vessel on suspicion of damaging the cable, the Malta-flagged Vezhen.
The Vezhen's Bulgarian owner said it was possible that the ship had accidentally caused a cable to break, but dismissed any possibility of sabotage or any other wrongdoing.
Sunday's cable rupture follows a string of similar incidents that have heightened fears of Russian sabotage and spying in the strategic Baltic Sea region.
In the last three months alone, there has been damage to a cable connecting Lithuania and Sweden, another connecting Germany and Finland, and a number of cables linking Estonia and Finland.
Such damage has been linked by authorities to Russia's so-called shadow fleet — ageing tankers that are dodging sanctions and ensuring continued oil revenue for Moscow.
The NATO military alliance earlier this month launched a new mission to protect undersea cables in the region by deploying frigates, naval drones, and patrol aircraft.
'We will do everything in our power to make sure that we fight back, are able to see what is happening and take the next steps to make sure that it doesn't happen again. And our adversaries should know this," NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said at the time.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Italian conservationists denounce cruise line development in Fiumicino
02:20 09/06/2025 Italy holds two-day referendum on citizenship, workers' rights Europe 08/06/2025 Italy holds referendums on citizenship and workers' rights Europe 08/06/2025 World leaders head to France for UN summit on ocean protection Europe 08/06/2025 Scientists, activists call for ban on bottom trawling ahead of UN ocean summit Europe 08/06/2025 Russia says pushing offensive into Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk Europe 08/06/2025 Italians vote in referendums to ease citizenship requirements, increase job protections Europe 07/06/2025 Several killed in Russian strike on Ukraine Europe 07/06/2025 Russian strikes on Ukraine's Kharkiv kill at least 3, injures several Europe 06/06/2025 "Racism in France has always been a question of anti-migrant and anti-Muslim bias" France
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
Ukraine and Russia commence new prisoner of war exchange
Ukraine and Russia have started a new prisoner of war exchange, following the agreement reached at the second round of direct talks in Istanbul last Monday. "Ukrainians are coming home from Russian captivity," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement. "Today the exchange began and will continue in several stages over the coming days. Among those being returned now are wounded and severely wounded prisoners, as well as those under 25," Zelenskyy added. Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed the return of the first group of Russian POWs as well, without providing details on the swapped soldiers. Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said that the first group of released prisoners includes personnel from Ukraine's navy, ground forces, air force, national guard, border guard service, territorial defence, and special transport service. Among those returned on Monday are the defenders of Mariupol, who have spent over three years in Russian captivity. "Most of those returned were captured in the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022," Ukraine's ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said. "We warmly welcome all who can now breathe the air of their homeland after years of captivity," Lubinets added. "Our team shares in the joy of the families who received that precious and long-awaited call." Kyiv didn't disclose the total number of POWs returned on Monday, citing security reasons. A few days ago, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine wanted to bring home 500 prisoners in the POW swap on Saturday and Sunday, which ultimately did not take place. Kyiv and Moscow agreed that the exchange would include young soldiers under 25 years old, the severely wounded and the seriously ill. The sides have also agreed to exchange the bodies of the fallen servicepeople. On Sunday, Russia accused Ukraine of postponing the swap and failing to respect the agreement. Moscow said that the trains carrying the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers were due to depart towards the Ukrainian border, accusing Kyiv of "not collecting them". Russia's Lieutenant General Aleksandr Zorin told the state-run TASS news agency the transfer of 'more than 6,000 (Ukrainian) bodies' had been agreed during the talks in Turkey. Kyiv categorically denied the accusations. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian Defenсe Intelligence, said that Ukraine was strictly adhering to the agreements reached at the second round of talks in Istanbul. Budanov stated that the start of "repatriation measures" was scheduled to take place next week, which he claims the Russian side informed him of a few days ago. In his Sunday address, Zelenskyy accused Russia of "playing a dirty political and information game" on the agreed POW exchange. Kyiv says it has brought back over 5,000 prisoners of war in a series of exchanges since March.. Ukraine continues to offer Russia an "all-for-all" swap — a proposal Moscow has so far rejected. A court in the Czech Republic on Monday sentenced a Colombian national to eight years in prison for plotting an arson attack on public transport in Prague, which officials believe was in part orchestrated by Russia. Andrés Alfonso de la Hoz de la Cruz, who pleaded guilty, was also ordered to pay damages worth 115,000 Czech koruna (€4,639). The 26-year-old was arrested a year ago after setting three public buses ablaze at a public transport depot in Prague's Klicov district. He recorded the incident and fled the scene as local workers brought the fire under control. At the time, a spokeswoman for Prague's public transport authority said the fires caused at least 200,000 koruna (€8,067) in damages. Cruz had received orders on Telegram and was promised a sum in order to carry out the deliberate blaze, the court revealed. In the aftermath of the attack, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said it was likely organised and financed by Moscow. Such incidents were part of Russia's repeated efforts to 'to undermine the trust of citizens in our state,' said Fiala. The Kremlin had denied any involvement in the incident. Fiala and other Western officials have accused Russia of staging dozens of attacks across Europe since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. These allegations build on earlier incidents, including a 2014 explosion at a Czech ammunition depot that Prague attributed to Russia's GRU military intelligence service.
France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
Russia, Ukraine swap first prisoners in large-scale exchange
The deal to exchange prisoners of war and repatriate the bodies of killed fighters was the only concrete agreement reached at the talks, which have failed to lead to a breakthrough towards ending the three-year war. Progress has stalled. Russia has issued tough conditions for halting its invasion and has repeatedly rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire. "Today an exchange began, which will continue in several stages over the coming days," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media. He posted images of soldiers draped in Ukrainian flags, cheering and hugging. "Among those we are bringing back now are the wounded, the severely wounded, and those under the age of 25," he added. Russia's defence ministry also confirmed the swap was part of "agreements reached on 2 June in Istanbul". Neither side said how many prisoners were released. After the talks in Istanbul, both said it would involve more than 1,000 captured soldiers, making it the largest exchange of the three-year war. The swap itself had appeared in jeopardy over the weekend, when Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations of delaying and thwarting the planned exchange. Zelensky accused Russia on Sunday of playing a "dirty, political game" and of not sticking to the agreed parameters -- to free all captured soldiers that are sick, wounded or under the age of 25. Russia said Kyiv was refusing to take back bodies of dead soldiers, 1,200 of which it said were waiting in refrigerated trucks near the border. Talks 'pointless' Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine triggered the biggest European conflict since World War II, forced millions to flee their homes and decimated much of eastern and southern Ukraine. Pressed by US President Donald Trump to end the conflict, the two sides have opened direct negotiations for the first time in more than three years in search of an agreement. But they appear as far apart as ever from an agreement. In Istanbul on June 2, Russia demanded Ukraine withdraw its forces from areas still under its control, recognise Moscow's annexation of five Ukrainian regions and renounce all Western military support. Kyiv is seeking a full ceasefire and a summit between Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump to try to break the impasse. While welcoming POW exchanges, Zelensky said last week said it was "pointless" to hold further talks with the current Russian delegation -- who he previously dismissed as "empty heads" -- since they could not agree to a ceasefire. Meanwhile fighting on the front lines and in the skies has intensified. Russia said on Sunday its troops had crossed into Ukraine's industrial Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in its campaign -- a potentially key advance given that Moscow has not put forward a territorial claim to that region. war And Moscow launched a record 479 drones at Ukraine overnight, Kyiv's air force said on Monday. The Ukrainian mayor of the western city of Rivne, Oleksandr Tretyak, called it "the largest attack" on the region since the start of the war. Russia said it had targeted an airfield near the village of Dubno in the Rivne region. It called the attack "one of the retaliatory strikes" for a brazen drone attack by Ukraine on June 1 against Russian military jets stationed at air bases thousands of kilometres (miles) behind the front line. Kyiv also claimed responsibility for an attack on a Russian electronics factory overnight, saying it manufactured parts for drones. Russian officials said the site had been forced to temporarily suspend production after a Ukrainian drone attack.
