RUSSIAN particular forces are one of many prime suspects within the assault on the Nord Stream pipelines which has triggered a catastrophe within the Baltic Sea.
Vladimir Putin’s regime are feared to have attacked the important thing gasoline hyperlink in an effort to proceed stoking the brewing vitality warfare with Europe amid tensions over Ukraine.
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Behind the assault might have been the so-called “Frogmen” particular forces commandos – who work for each the Russian Navy and Putin’s spies, the GRU, who had been behind the Salisbury poisonings in 2018.
It’s feared Russia might have both used deep sea divers or drone submarines to set off huge explosions which blew two holes in Nord Stream 1 and one gap in Nord Stream 2.
Putin’s equal of the SAS, Spetsnaz troopers have a popularity for being properly armed, extremely skilled and ruthless.
And the so-called “Frogmen” with their all-black moist fits and distinctive underwater weapons are specialised to hold out operations within the deep.
Commandos within the unit are skilled for each stealth and sabotage – with a variety of instruments at their disposal to hold out operations.
The forces have entry to midget submarines, manned torpedoes, specialised weapons, pace boats and even skilled dolphins.
Usually deployed from a warship, small boat or submarine – they take care of essentially the most clandestine undersea operations.
Europe is certain the Nord Stream assault was an act of sabotage – and each Poland and Ukraine have pointed the finger at Russia.
Putin’s frogmen are additionally understood to work for the specialist GUGI naval unit – the Foremost Directorate of Deep Analysis.
Regardless of its scientific identify, it is understood to be a spy division which specialises in undersea operation.
And this is able to doubtlessly embrace concentrating on a pipeline or deep sea web cables.
Russia’s frogmen are armed with the APS underwater rifle – a gun specifically designed to have the ability to hearth beneath the waves.
It shoot out 4.75 inch lengthy metal bolts which may burst by robust wetsuits and higher minimize by water than extraordinary bullets.
The bolts might in principle additionally injury small underwater automobiles.
And as their facet arm, the frogmen wield SSP-1 pistols which shoot related metal darts.
Each these weapons are much less helpful on land, however may very well be devastating for any enemies they arrive up towards below the ocean.
PIPELINE PANIC
The frogmen are additionally skilled that if the weapons do not work, they swap over to blades for brutal underwater fight.
However as drones change into an increasing number of prevalent – so have the frogmen tailored, bringing distant managed mini subs into their arsenal.
Russian state media earlier within the 12 months reported the commandos had been practising with a robotic designed to seek out different frogmen.
The Marlin-350 is box-like underwater drone utilized by the troops which is supplied cameras and echolocation tech.
And it’s understood Russia has a variant of midget submarines cable of “seabed engineering” which may very well be used to slice cables and even plant bombs on pipelines like Nord Stream.
The frogmen may be delivered from a bigger sub – even launched whereas driving a manned torpedo which powers them to their vacation spot.
However for one of many strangest components of Russia’s underwater arsenal, it’s sea animals that are skilled to assist them.
It was reported earlier this 12 months that Putin’s dolphins had been noticed at a Crimean naval base to guard them from underwater sabotage.
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The dolphins are specifically skilled to smell out mines and observe down enemy frogmen.
they usually may even assault the enemy divers.
Sea lions are additionally generally given the identical coaching, and infamously a number of years in the past a “spy” Beluga whale was noticed off Norway.
Twin 800-mile pipelines Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 can ferry 110billion cubic metres of gasoline yearly from Russia into Western Europe.
Each had been shut off in an vitality row between Moscow and the West linked to the warfare in Ukraine.
However on Monday there have been undersea explosions and a mini earthquake detected, earlier than fighter jets noticed roiling gasoline bubbles rising to the floor of the Baltic Sea.
German gasoline engineers reported there was an “explosive” stress drop within the pipeline and the pipes have been “torn open”.
And federal investigators concern particular forces utilizing a submarine might have been used to break Nord Stream, stories Tagesspiegel.
Vitality boss Kristoffer Bottzauw, from Denmark’s vitality company, warned it might take every week for gasoline to cease draining out of the pipeline.
Europe is already braced for a bleak winter as gasoline turns into a key pawn in Putin’s conflict on the West.
Russia described the assault on the pipelines as “very regarding information”.
European gasoline costs rose for first time after falling for the final 4 days within the wake of the assault.
Rolling blackouts, 4 day weeks, and regular folks being unable to afford to warmth their properties are simply a number of the penalties feared to sweep throughout the continent as temperatures plunge.
Vitality has change into a tug of warfare between the West and Russia as Putin’s tyrannical regime is sanctioned and remoted because of their savage warfare in Ukraine.
Fuel costs had been already excessive earlier than the Ukraine warfare as demand soared after the lifting of Covid restrictions.
However costs skyrocketed after the invasion as Russia is among the world’s greatest producers.
Continental Europe is closely reliant in Russian gasoline imports, resulting in fears of winter blackouts, rationing and manufacturing facility closures in Germany.
Solely a tiny fraction of Britain’s gasoline comes immediately from Russia.
However the UK depends extra on gasoline for producing electrical energy than European neighbours as a result of it has much less nuclear and renewable vitality.
Britain additionally has little storage capability, forcing vitality corporations to purchase gasoline on the extremely risky short-term spot market.
Even the considerable North Sea gasoline is bought to the UK based mostly on worldwide market costs.
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