FLASH
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Norwegian secret services warned last year that their country would be one of the first targets if there was an escalation of the conflict between Russia and Western countries.
An annual security report by the Norwegian intelligence services has highlighted the problems of the war in Ukraine. According to the report, it is said that Russia is increasingly taking the initiative in Ukraine and is on its way to achieving dominance in the fighting. This can be seen in the recent development of the situation in Avdeyevka, where Ukrainian forces were forced to withdraw.
Western arms shipments enabled Ukraine's military to prevent Russia from making significant military advances in Ukraine last year, but much of the delivered material was lost or wasted on the battlefield, the report said, according to the German newspaper. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Ukraine's offensive in 2023 put great pressure on Russian troops, but they consolidated and refortified their defensive lines.
- In 2024, Ukraine failed to keep the initiative in the war - say the Norwegians. Russia, on the other hand, has taken some successful steps and mobilized a large number of young soldiers. It is able to mobilize three times more young people for war than Ukraine. Moreover, Western sanctions have less impact on the Russian economy than expected.
According to the report, the rate of production of ammunition, weapons, drones and missiles is higher than a year ago. Russia is receiving increasing military support from China, North Korea, Iran and Belarus. As for China, it does not supply weapons, but supplies military equipment and components that are critical to Russia's military action and warfare.
Russia is ready for a "prolonged war"
The Russian regime believes time is working in its favor and is ready for a "prolonged war," the report said. Kiev will therefore need "significant" military assistance from the West to have any hope of turning the situation around, military intelligence chief Nils Andreas Stensones said on Monday when he presented the report.
This report is compiled annually by the Norwegian foreign intelligence service NIS, the domestic intelligence service PST and the National Security Service NSM.
Due to the expansion of NATO with the entry of Finland and, in all likelihood, soon Sweden into the Alliance, one of the most important goals of Russia in the Baltic, which is to maintain it as a "geographical and political buffer", has been lost. against the Western military alliance, the report said.
However, they point out that currently, due to the significant reduction in the number of bilateral contacts between Russia and Norway, Moscow's behavior has become less predictable.
Norway is the next 'victim' of Russia
Russia has been mapping critical oil and gas infrastructure in Norway "for years," the report added. This accumulated knowledge can become important in the event of a conflict. Russia uses a large number of civilian vessels for intelligence activities and collects information, among other things, on Norway's energy and defense infrastructure. With these vessels, Russia is able to legally access targets.
As a result of the Russian war of aggression, Norway became Europe's main supplier of energy. Gas infrastructure in particular could be the target of sabotage or attempts to disrupt operations through cyber attacks, the report said. Norwegian secret services warned last year that their country would be one of the first targets if there was an escalation of the conflict between Russia and Western countries./ Adapted "Pamphlet" from "Novosti"
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