Russian ship suspected of espionage off the coast of Portugal

Portuguese military suspects Russian research vessel of spying on the country’s underwater infrastructure.

The Portuguese army has sent a reconnaissance aircraft to monitor a Russian vessel maneuvering in the waters of a Western European country. This is reported by Gospodarka Morska.

The Portuguese Air Force Command noted that Russian intelligence services are using an oceanographic research vessel to monitor underwater telecommunications cables.

“This vessel is, in particular, equipped with technologies for controlling underwater vehicles, allowing operations at great depths,” the military stressed.

The vessel, whose name has not been disclosed, left Portuguese waters on January 19.

Last year, the Portuguese Armed Forces recorded a record number of missions to monitor Russian ships – 73 cases. During some operations, several units of the Russian fleet were observed simultaneously.

Earlier, USM wrote that the Russian Federation uses the “research” fleet for sabotage against NATO countries.