Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Russia: Britain plotting attacks on oil fleet

The new cold war

Published today 10:47
– By Editorial Staff
According to the SVR (Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service), the goal is to pressure Washington to impose harsh sanctions against buyers of Russian oil.
2 minute read

Britain’s intelligence services are planning to involve NATO in a large-scale sabotage operation targeting the so-called “shadow fleet,” a network of tankers used to transport Russian oil. This is according to Russia’s foreign intelligence service SVR.

“British secret services are planning ecological disaster in international waters. The press bureau of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation informs that, according to the information coming to the SVR, the British secret services are planning to involve NATO allies in a massive roundup for the ‘shadow fleet’”, the statement reads.

According to the document, the British goal is to create an incident that provokes strong international reactions involving one or more tankers – an incident that could be used as a pretext for further measures against Russian oil exports.

“The plan involves organizing a major act of sabotage the losses of which would allow the transportation of Russian oil to be declared a threat to all international shipping. This would untie Western countries’ hands in choosing methods of counteraction”, it states.

Ukrainian saboteurs

According to the SVR, Britain is working with two possible scenarios.

The first involves a staged accident with an “unwanted” tanker in a bottleneck of global maritime traffic – for example, a strait – where oil spills and blocking of shipping lanes could give NATO a “sufficient” reason to introduce a new practice of ship inspections under the pretext of safety and environmental protection.

The second scenario involves setting fire to a vessel during loading at a port in a country with good relations with Russia, where the fire is expected to cause major damage to port infrastructure and spread to other ships – something that would in turn trigger an international investigation.

“London is going to entrust Ukrainian security forces with the implementation of both terrorist attacks. Their expectedly dirty work and inability to ‘cover up’ their tracks are considered by the British as a guarantee of impunity for themselves. The international investigation would hold either Russia or at worst Ukraine responsible for the accident, similar to the situation with the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosion”, the SVR emphasizes.

Wants to pressure Trump into more sanctions

According to the statement, the timing of a potential attack is strategically chosen to maximize its media impact and put pressure on US President Donald Trump’s administration.

“The aim is to force Washington, in defiance of its national interests, to impose the most severe secondary sanctions against Russian energy resources buyers, making them seen as ‘indirect culprits of the tragedy’”, the intelligence service writes.

“It seems like nostalgia for the lost dominance at sea and for authorized by the Crown pirate lawlessness have completely deprived the British Intelligence of the remnants of common sense. It’s high time for our British colleagues to understand that their increasingly bold attempts not only ‘to get back at’ their rivals, but also to cause damage to the global energy security and ecology are capable to make even their most loyal allies run out of patience”, it concludes.

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Russia: Sanctions have cost the EU 1000 billion euros

The new cold war

Published yesterday 13:04
– By Editorial Staff
Alexander Grusjko points out that the EU's previously extensive trade with Russia today "is practically approaching zero".
2 minute read

The EU’s economic losses following the termination of energy cooperation and reduced trade with Russia now exceed one trillion (1,000 billion) euros. This according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko.

– There are different estimates. If we talk about the majority of experts, the total amounts to as much as more than a trillion euros taking into account losses from termination of energy cooperation with Russia, from the curtailment of trade. In 2013, our trade was worth 417 billion euros, last year it equaled 60 billion euros, now it is practically approaching zero. This is lost profit, said Grushko, according to several Russian media outlets.

He also highlighted differences in energy costs between Europe and the USA:

– The cost of natural gas in Europe is 4-5 times higher than in the US while electricity is 2-3 times more expensive. This is the price that Europe has to pay for curtailing all economic contacts with Russia.

More expensive deals with the USA

The statement comes shortly after the EU concluded a new trade agreement with the USA, which commits the union to purchasing large volumes of American energy. According to Moscow, these deliveries are significantly more expensive than those previously supplied by Russia. The agreement also includes 15 percent tariffs on important EU products, which several European politicians have criticized as unbalanced and harmful to Europe’s interests.

Earlier in June, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that EU countries had lost around 200 billion euros (231 billion dollars) solely by forgoing Russian gas deliveries. Towards the end of 2024, Russian officials estimated that total EU losses linked to sanctions had reached 1.5 trillion dollars.

At the same time, Moscow claims that the country has achieved a certain “immunity” against Western sanctions.

Sanctions since 2014

In a comment on the new USA-EU agreement, Putin claimed that the EU has in practice lost its political sovereignty, which according to him has directly led to weakened economic independence.

The EU began imposing sanctions against Russia in 2014 following the annexation of Crimea and the erupting conflict in eastern Ukraine, and has significantly expanded them since 2022. The sanctions target areas including the banking sector, energy exports, and Russian industrial companies.

Moscow, in turn, regards the sanctions as illegal and argues that they violate international trade rules and threaten global economic stability.

Slovakia urges West to engage in dialogue with Russia

The new cold war

Published 2 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Juraj Blanar believes that Western leaders must use diplomacy and dialogue to end the war.
2 minute read

Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar believes that the war in Ukraine cannot be decided on the battlefield. Instead, he urges the Western world to seek a peaceful solution through direct dialogue with Russia – and warns that continued tensions could lead to a catastrophic large-scale war between NATO and Moscow.

– We do not want a war between Russia and NATO to break out, because that would be the Third World War. We want the conflict to be settled peacefully, Blanar said during a discussion program on Slovak public broadcaster STVR last Sunday.

Blanar emphasized the importance of diplomacy and called for a return to “respect for international law”. He also suggested that the Western world should seek ways to renew contact with Moscow – “and perhaps even forgive everything that has happened”.

Slovakia, like Hungary, has consistently pushed for de-escalation of the conflict and opposed additional EU sanctions against Russia.

The country’s president Peter Pellegrini has also urged EU member states to resume direct talks with Moscow and has simultaneously rejected demands for rapid military buildup within NATO, arguing that defense spending should reflect each country’s own priorities – rather than concerns about Russia.

Russia demands Ukrainian neutrality

Russian officials have condemned the US-led bloc’s decision last week that member countries should raise their defense budgets to 5 percent of GDP – a measure that NATO says will deter the “long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security”.

The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that it has no intentions of attacking any NATO country and has called the accusations “nonsense” – a scare tactic that, according to Moscow, is used by the West to legitimize increased defense spending.

Moscow states that it seeks a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine war, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that a lasting agreement must include recognition of the actual situation “on the ground”, as well as Ukrainian neutrality.

According to Putin, contacts between Moscow and Kyiv are being maintained regarding a possible third round of peace negotiations. Previous talks have been held in Turkey, where the parties have exchanged draft peace proposals and carried out several prisoner exchanges.

Peace activist urges NATO–Russia cooperation over toxic munitions on Baltic Sea floor

The new cold war

Published 1 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Approximately 40 tons of hazardous chemical warfare agents lie scattered on the bottom of the Baltic Sea, according to experts.
2 minute read

An estimated 1.6 million tons of World War II ammunition still lies at the bottom of the North Sea and Baltic Sea.

According to experts, this not only poses a security threat but also a growing environmental risk – and removal should be done through international cooperation rather than individual initiatives.

The majority of the ammunition, primarily left behind by Nazi Germany, consists of conventional shells. However, about 40 tons contain dangerous chemical warfare agents, including mustard gas and phosgene. After decades underwater, many of the containers have begun to corrode, posing a threat to the marine ecosystem and potentially to coastal areas.

– The question was how to deal with the recovery of these poison time bombs for the biosphere of the Baltic Sea. Of course, due to the corrosion of these vessels, there is a danger for the fish and the plants, and other countries, says German publicist and peace activist Bernhard Trautvetter in an interview with RT.

He emphasizes that the responsibility cannot lie with a single country and that NATO countries in the Baltic region, as well as Russia, which has access to these waters through its exclave of Kaliningrad and the St. Petersburg area, must join forces to “pull this time bomb out of the world”.

German pilot project

Germany launched a pilot project in 2023 to salvage the ammunition, conducting work in the Bay of Lübeck, with the first phase completed in April this year. The authorities described the project as a success but acknowledged that further technical adaptations are needed in areas where ammunition concentrations are particularly high.

The initiative has simultaneously raised concerns among environmental organizations, researchers, and neighboring countries about how the recovery affects the marine environment, especially if conducted without cross-border coordination.

Russia has long expressed concern about the chemical legacy of the war and has repeatedly called for an international effort to clear the seabed of war materials. In practice, however, Russia has been kept out of the efforts made so far, largely due to the deteriorated security situation and the frosty relationship with the West following the initiation of the war in Ukraine.

Soaring weapons prices risk consuming Sweden’s NATO buildup

The new cold war

Published 30 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
It remains unclear how much weapons and equipment Sweden's multi-billion investment in defense will actually cover in the end.
3 minute read

Sweden is building up its military like never before – but it’s far from certain that the investments will have the desired effect. Weapons manufacturers’ prices for arms and ammunition have soared, and a large part of the military build-up risks being consumed by increased costs.

– Then we won’t become more dangerous to the adversary, emphasizes Vice Admiral Ewa Skoog Haslum, Chief of Joint Operations at the Swedish Armed Forces.

According to the Swedish Armed Forces, the war in Ukraine has shown how quickly ammunition and weapon systems are consumed in modern conflicts, and Sweden’s own stockpiles are dimensioned for training and deterrence – not for prolonged combat.

– When it comes to ammunition, we may not have bought as much as we would need in actual combat. Instead, we’ve bought what we think we need for training and maintaining sufficient deterrence, Skoog Haslum tells TT news agency.

To meet the threat, stockpiles must be built up, and Swedish defense industry must be able to quickly scale up production if war breaks out.

Defense industry positive about closer collaboration

The development of new weapons is also accelerating. In Ukraine, for example, new weapon systems, such as marine drones, have been met with countermeasures within just four to six weeks. In Sweden, however, it can take years – sometimes decades – from order to delivery.

To shorten lead times, the Swedish Armed Forces wants to test unfinished products directly in exercises, in close collaboration with the defense industry.

– I believe we’ll become better as Armed Forces, but I also think the industry would develop faster, the Vice Admiral continues.

Defense industry representatives are positive, and Lena Gillström, CEO of Swedish defense company BAE Systems Bofors and chairperson of the Security and Defense Companies Association, sees great benefits in reducing the distance between users and developers.

– By maintaining close dialogue with those who use the systems, we can also see which problems need to be solved. I believe this will be crucial for achieving speed in the system, she says.

She is prepared to send company engineers to exercises to adjust gun turrets and artillery systems in the field – something that currently happens very rarely.

Swedish Parliament wants to borrow €27 billion

As more countries build up their military, the demand for both weapons and ammunition increases – and consequently, prices rise. Ewa Skoog Haslum sees a clear risk that the increased defense allocations won’t translate into actual combat power.

– Absolutely, it’s a risk, and then we won’t get more capability for the Armed Forces. Then we won’t become more dangerous to the adversary, instead we’ll have spent the money on more expensive items, she explains.

The defense budget for 2025 amounts to 143 billion SEK (€13 billion) – a ten percent increase compared to the previous year. This corresponds to 2.4 percent of GDP according to NATO’s calculation model. But to reach NATO’s new goals – 3.5 percent for military defense plus 1.5 percent for civil defense – an additional 70 billion SEK (€6.2 billion) per year is required.

The Swedish Parliament is prepared to borrow up to 300 billion SEK (€27 billion) to accelerate the military build-up and reach the goals by 2032. Of this amount, 50 billion SEK (€4.5 billion) is earmarked for civil defense.

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