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Politico: New Russian church’s location near Swedish airport raises security concerns

The church in Sweden’s Västerås has drawn criticism from security experts due to its proximity to strategic facilities, amid growing evidence of Moscow using religious institutions for intelligence operations across Europe.

byYuri Zoria

11/11/2024

2 minute read

Holy Mother of God of Kazan Russian Orthodox Church, Västerås, Sweden. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Politico: New Russian church’s location near Swedish airport raises security concerns

A newly built Russian Orthodox Church in Västerås, Sweden, has become the center of national security concerns due to its proximity to strategic facilities, Politico reports. The church, featuring an onion-domed spire and surrounded by high fencing with CCTV coverage, is located near strategically important infrastructure, including Västerås Airport, energy and water infrastructure just 100 kilometers west of Stockholm.

Russia has utilized the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) for espionage operations in Europe. Historically tied to the Russian state, the ROC was co-opted by the KGB in the Soviet era, with clerics conscripted for espionage. This legacy fuels ongoing concerns, as seen in Bulgaria’s September 2023 expulsion of ROC clergy, including Archimandrite Vasian Zmeev, over national security threats. In the West, Russian spies have been engaging in espionage, assassinations, arson, and sabotage. Notable incidents include killing Chechen dissidents abroad, the 2018 UK nerve agent attack, and an assassination plot against Germany’s Rheinmetall CEO.

Markus Göransson, a researcher focusing on Russia at the Swedish Defence University, warned that “the church offers a potential foothold that can be used for information-gathering, both directed at Västerås Airport and at industrial interests in the form of large companies involved in the energy sector.”

The Swedish security police (SÄPO) has concluded that church representatives “have had contacts” with Russian intelligence operatives in Sweden. A SÄPO spokesperson stated that “the Russian state uses the Russian Orthodox Church in Sweden as a platform to conduct intelligence activities in Sweden.”

Following these concerns, the Swedish public body providing financial support to religious groups (SST) halted funding for the church in May after consulting with SÄPO, according to Politico.

The church’s location, approved by the Västerås planning committee in February 2017, provides direct access to Västerås Airport, which serves as a designated standby facility for military and civil crises. Nearby facilities include a water treatment works and production facilities for power companies ABB and Westinghouse.

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