Moscow sets up a secret Russian underwater network in the Baltic. Russian intelligence agencies have turned the site of the MS Estonia ferry disaster in the Baltic Sea into a base for underwater espionage, Yle reports.
German media outlets Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, and Süddeutsche Zeitung investigated and concluded that Russia is using the ferry wreck, which is off-limits to divers, as a training area for underwater operations.
Sunken ferry becomes a training ground for spying
Moreover, the remains of the ship are likely being used to host spy equipment, enabling preparation for secret missions in the Baltic Sea.
Analysts emphasize that this location is strategically advantageous: it is close to shipping lanes, within NATO countries' influence zone, yet designated as a “quiet zone” where diving is prohibited. It is also noted that some NATO countries are aware of the spy equipment on the sunken ship, though this has not been publicly confirmed.
Rumors of a secret underwater base have circulated for years
Swedish broadcaster SVT, in cooperation with NDR and other international media partners, reported as part of the “Russian Secrets” project that Russia has been building a covert network to monitor NATO countries for several years.
Sunken vessels are harder to detect than the seabed
One sign of this activity has been incidents involving cut telecommunications lines in the Baltic. Unlike devices placed directly on the seabed, equipment attached to a sunken ship is much harder to detect.
Western intelligence sources also believe that similar operations are occurring at sites of sunken aircraft.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia employed oil tankers to launch and control drones targeting European nations.
Zelenskyy: Russians use tankers to launch drones across Europe
