Sweden encounters Russian submarines in Baltic 'almost weekly'
The Swedish Navy encounters Russian submarines in the Baltic Sea "almost weekly" and is preparing for a further increase in their numbers in the event of a ceasefire or truce in the war in Ukraine.
The Guardian reports this, citing Captain Marko Petkovic, Head of the Operations Department of the Swedish Navy, according to Ukrinform.
According to him, Moscow was "continuously reinforcing" its presence in the region, and sightings of its vessels were a regular part of life for the Swedish navy. Its "very common", he said, adding that the number of sightings had increased in recent years.
Petkovic said Russia was increasing its capabilities and was producing one Kilo-class submarine a year in St Petersburg and the Kaliningrad enclave, positioned between Poland and Lithuania. He said it was undergoing a "deliberate and constant modernisation programme" of its ships.
"Once a ceasefire or armistice is eventually in place in Ukraine, you can only assess, and we do assess that Russia will reinforce its capabilities in this region. So with that said, the [Swedish] navy needs to continuously grow and focus on the overall picture," said Petkovic.
He said Russia's shadow fleet of civilian-flagged oil tankers was also a concern and did not rule out the potential for such ships to be used to launch drones.
"The shadow fleet in itself is not a military problem, but the shadow fleet could affect our nations from a military perspective," he stated.
The varying challenges of underwater conditions – including shorter visibility than above water, salinity and temperature – mean that underwater infrastructure was especially vulnerable in the Baltics, he said. This was especially the case for Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia and Lithuania, he said, which were "fully dependent on the sea lines for communication, for our sustainment of our societies".
At the same time, he believes that increased Nato vigilance is having an impact. He said that since Operation Baltic Sentry was established in January, "we haven't seen any cable incidents in this region at all".
"First of all it shows that the alliance works, cohesion. And we are closing ranks against one particular threat. The Baltic Sentry has proven that point," Petkovich said.
He added that regardless of whether these incidents "have been state-sponsored or if it's been bad seamanship, or anything in between, it has raised awareness amongst the merchant fleet that they should be a bit more cautious when travelling our regional waters."
As Ukrinform reported, Russia has developed an underwater surveillance system in the Arctic to protect its fleet of nuclear submarines, using equipment purchased from U.S. and European companies through a secret procurement network.
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