Russia may have been using civilian ships to prepare sabotage by gathering intelligence in Nordic waters, according to an investigative report by public broadcasters in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The Kremlin denied the report.
(Bloomberg) — Russia may have been using civilian ships to prepare sabotage by gathering intelligence in Nordic waters, according to an investigative report by public broadcasters in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The Kremlin denied the report.
Senior Russian officials privately raised concerns some 10 months ago about the risks of becoming too dependent on Chinese technologies after US and European Union sanctions shut off access to alternative suppliers, according to a private Russian government paper.
Ukraine’s Black Sea crop shipments resumed on Wednesday, following another brief halt that sparked fresh worries about future cargoes from the key exporter.
Key Developments
- Russian Memo Said War Leaves Moscow Too Reliant on Chinese Tech
- Ukraine’s Key Black Sea Crop Exports Resume After Latest Halt
- Russia’s Warmongers Are Scorpions in a Bottle: Leonid Bershidsky
(All times CET)
Estonia Hosts World’s Largest Cyber War Games (11:50 a.m.)
Over 3,000 participants from locations in 38 nations will practice defending a fictional country from simulated cyber attacks at a NATO-affiliated exercise based in Tallinn this week. The annual Locked Shields exercise will involve thousands of attacks on mock critical infrastructure systems, such as banks and power plants.
“Ukraine has strong digital competences, and that has meant that their state can keep delivering essential digital services even in wartime,” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said in a statement.
Bulgaria Joins Ban on Ukrainian Food Imports, Allows Transit (9 a.m.)
Donev said that after the introduction of corridors for Ukrainian grains “significant volumes of foods remained in the country and disrupted basic production-trade chains.” He added: “Bulgaria remains in solidarity with Ukraine but the bankruptcies of its agricultural producers will by no means contribute to its cause.”
Hungary has banned imports of Ukrainian grains and selected agricultural products until July 1, while allowing cargo to pass through the country. Several eastern European countries have voiced concerns that Ukrainian agricultural supplies piling up in local warehouses are hurting their domestic markets.
Russia Mapping Nordic Infrastructure Using Civilian Ships: Report (9:05 a.m.)
The investigative report identified some 50 vessels that could be part of a Russian program to gather intelligence on wind farms, gas pipelines and cables for electricity and data traffic.
While most of the ships have been identified using data from the AIS tracking system, others such as the research vessel Admiral Vladimirsky have been traveling with AIS transceivers switched off. When a team from Denmark’s public broadcaster, DR, approached the ship, which has passed several offshore wind farms in Denmark and the UK, men armed with machine guns appeared on board.
Norway’s NRK also identifies a Russian fishing vessel that has sailed slowly past US nuclear submarines when they have surfaced in Norwegian waters on at least four occasions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the report as “groundless,” according to Tass.
Russian Memo Said War Leaves Moscow Too Reliant on Chinese Tech (8:15 a.m.)
A previously unreported assessment from inside Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media suggests that some senior officials are worried that Chinese companies such as Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. could come to dominate the Russian market and may pose a risk to the country’s information security and networks.
European officials familiar with the document said it suggests that Russia has backed itself into a corner since it struggles to produce advanced technology domestically and has been cut off from other foreign markets following the invasion of Ukraine. The report, drafted in the summer of 2022, highlights chips, network devices and electronics as areas of particular vulnerability.
Ten Civilians Injured, One Killed in Kherson Region by Russian Strikes (8:10 a.m.)
The Kherson region came under Russian artillery and drone strikes 79 times in the past 24 hours, and 350 rounds of ammunition were fired killing one civilian and injuring ten, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram. Russian forces fired at residential areas, a local market and an educational building in the city of Kherson.
Ukrainian defenses downed ten out of 12 drones sent by Russia to the Odesa region overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Telegram.
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