According to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, Russia has been showing an increased presence in the Baltic Sea for some time. The presence of the Russian navy and civilian ships is clearly increasing, the SPD politician said on Deutschlandfunk radio on Thursday (5/12/2024).
More and more incidents on water and in the air
The German minister emphasized that Russia has repeatedly demonstrated provocative behavior. “We have had numerous incidents in the Baltic Sea which then resulted in warning shots being fired in the air and in the water,” Pistorius said. He sees analogies here to airborne incidents in which Russian fighters took to the air over the Baltic countries without identification to see how NATO would react. “We know this from the Cold War,” he concluded.
On Wednesday (4/12), Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) drew attention to Russia's military behavior in the Baltic Sea, speaking in Brussels. She said that “helicopters, also from Germany”, were “fired upon” by a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea region. However, she did not provide any details about the incident.
According to the German news agency DPA, the ship fired signaling ammunition. This ammunition is usually used only in emergency situations.
Russia bypasses EU sanctions
Baerbock also drew attention to the fact that there are constantly ships sailing in the Baltic Sea that are involved in circumventing sanctions imposed in connection with Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Pistorius also talked about sanctions and emphasized that the Chinese navy is also present in the region. This shows “the strategic importance of the Baltic Sea for many, especially Russia and China, also in terms of circumventing sanctions.”
On the issue of possible escalation, Pistorius said the German navy and allied navies were acting very cautiously. “They record incidents, report them, respond with de-escalation measures and do not engage in any provocative behavior because that is the last thing we can use,” the politician said, adding: “We are experiencing hybrid warfare” and there is a “threat to infrastructure.” DPA,AFP/Aug
The article comes from the website Deutsche Welle