Russia Issues Ominous Warning About Undersea Internet Cables - Newsweek

An ally of Vladimir Putin has accused the U.S. and the U.K. of intending to sabotage underwater internet cables and planning to destabilize the maritime energy trade.

In reporting the comments by Nikolai Patrushev, the Telegram channel Crimean Wind posted, "it would be funny, but such statements often sound like a cover for their own intentions."

When contacted for comment, a British Foreign Office spokesperson told Newsweek on Tuesday: "We are not going to provide a running commentary on Russia's conspiracy theories."

Citing U.S. officials, CNN reported in September that Russia was developing a sabotage unit with submarines and drones to target underwater infrastructure by order of the defense ministry's Main Directorate for Deep-Sea Research (GUGI).

Patrushev is considered one of the key drivers of Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and served as secretary of Russia's Security Council before being moved to the position of Putin aide. He is also chairman of Russia's maritime board.

He told the newspaper Kommersant the U.S. and the U.K. were behind the September 2022 attacks on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines which are still shrouded in mystery—and were planning others.

In the interview published on Monday, Patrushev said, "American and British special services" would have the equipment and personnel required to carry out such an operation as a means "to promote their economic interests."

A Swedish investigation found evidence of sabotage on the pipelines between Russia and Germany. Moscow had initially accused the U.S. Probes by Sweden and Denmark were closed in February 2024 without identifying those responsible, although a German investigation is ongoing.

German authorities had reportedly issued a European arrest warrant in June for a Ukrainian national suspected of sabotaging the pipeline along with two others, using a yacht called Andromeda.

But Patrushev that the Ukrainian Navy "neither the equipment nor the trained specialists to carry out a deep-sea terrorist attack" and said that "only special forces units of NATO countries could carry out sabotage of this scale."

He said that in future, new infrastructure, including marine fiber-optic cables that provide connectivity around the world, could come under attack." The move would have the goal of sowing "chaos" in the global energy market, "including by destabilizing maritime transportation."

Patrushev said this was the intention behind U.S. strikes against the Houthis in the Persian Gulf, which Washington has conducted in response to attacks by the Iranian-backed Yemeni group against shipping in the region.

The British Foreign Office also told Newsweek that the investigation into the Nord Stream incident is still being conducted by Germany. "We will not comment further ahead of the findings of the investigation being published," it added.

Newsweek has also contacted the U.S. State Department and for a response to Patrushev's unsubstantiated claims which come amid concerns about an increased Russian maritime presence near NATO's shores.

Media in Norway have reported concerns at the presence in the last few weeks of the Russian intelligence ship Yantar in international waters alongside its coast near critical seabed infrastructure such as oil and gas pipelines and cables for internet and telecommunications.

Update 11/12/24, 12:30 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from the British Foreign Office.