The actions by Oslo could drag NATO into the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, a defense source has told the agency<\/p>\n
Norway is assisting Ukraine with preparing \u201cterrorist attacks\u201d on Russian commercial vessels in the Barents and Norwegian seas, TASS has reported, citing a defense source.
\nAround 50 Ukrainian drone operators have already arrived in the NATO country and begun their training, the agency said in an article on Thursday.
\nAccording to the source, they are \u201cpracticing the use of submerged and surface unmanned systems in the Norwegian Sea in cold conditions together with experts of the Norwegian Navy\u2019s special operations command.\u201d
\nThe plan by Kiev and Oslo is to target ships heading in and out of Murmansk, which is Russia\u2019s largest Arctic port, located in the north-west of the country, a source told TASS.
\n\u201cThe Norwegian leadership\u2019s assistance to the Kiev regime\u2019s terrorist activities and the provision of its territory for preparation and execution of sabotage at sea directly draws Norway and the entire NATO bloc into a military conflict with Russia,\u201d the source stressed.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
German \u2018militaristic frenzy\u2019 could end in tragedy \u2013 Moscow<\/p>\n
The UK said on Thursday that British and Norwegian forces led an operation to deter Russian submarines suspected of \u201cmalign activity\u201d in the North Atlantic. According to UK Defense Secretary John Healey, a frigate and multiple aircraft monitored three subs for over a month until they left the area north of Britain.
\nIn February, Norwegian intelligence agencies issued a report which described Russia as the \u201cgreatest threat\u201d to the security of the Nordic nation and the whole of Europe. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the paper as a collection of \u201cfantasies\u201d and \u201cbaseless accusations,\u201d stressing that \u201cthe deliberate escalation of tensions\u201d by Norway contradicts the interests of both Moscow and Oslo.
\nThe authorities in Moscow have repeatedly said they harbor no aggressive plans against NATO and will only fight the bloc if it attacks Russia first.
\nUkrainian drones have previously targeted vessels transporting Russian oil and other goods in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Kiev also attacked the port of Novorossiysk, which accounts for some 20% of Russia\u2019s crude oil exports, and energy facilities in various parts of the country.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Ukrainian drones target key US-linked oil hub in Russia \u2013 Defense Ministry<\/p>\n
Moscow has retaliated with a long-range strike campaign of its own, targeting dual-use infrastructure, including power grid facilities and military sites in Ukraine with missiles and drones. Russia maintains that it never targets purely civilian sites.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The actions by Oslo could drag NATO into the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, a defense source has told the agency Norway is assisting Ukraine with preparing \u201cterrorist attacks\u201d on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32863,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t