I tracked Putin’s ‘shadow fleet’ in Nato’s frozen frontier where Vlad wages war on us every DAY… & reveal our fight back
A DRONE plunges into the icy waters of the Baltic from a snow-speckled warship – with a mission to head to the seabed and inspect for signs of sinister activity.
Tanks may not storm borders and air raid sirens sound, but here in Europe’s frozen north, NATO forces are pursuing the shadows.
The intriguer Vladimir Putin is shaking up the rules of the game when it comes to conflict, by waging a hybrid war against the West.
Sabotage, subversion and espionage are Vlad’s main tools, as the tyrant twists the knife just enough to destabilize the West – but not to trigger a military response.
Moscow has been accused of orchestrating so-called gray zone operations, such as cutting key communications cables and dangerous drone incursions, in a bid to intimidate kyiv’s allies.
This may have spread to NATO, but the alliance knows exactly what Russia is doing as Putin struggles to achieve his strategic goals in Ukraine.
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The Sun was invited to join NATO forces in the Baltic Sea – the front line of Putin’s clandestine war – as they launched a huge exercise called Freezing Winds, led by Finland.
Commanders aboard the massive frigate Niels Juel – the largest ship participating in the exercise – told me how they faced Russian ships on a daily basis.
With 20 combat ships, fighter jets, helicopters and 5,000 troops involved in the exercise, the message couldn’t be clearer: we’re watching you Vlad.
But the goal of the 11-day multinational exercise goes beyond flexing military muscle at Putin’s doorstep.
Speaking aboard the Niels Juel, Commodore Janne Huusko – Chief of Staff of the Finnish Navy – issued a stern warning to Vlad, insisting that NATO is ready for anything, even war.
He said: “NATO is strong and united.
“The military capabilities and interoperability of Finnish and allied naval forces promote safety and security in the Baltic Sea region.
“NATO is vigilant in the Baltic Sea region. The protection of maritime lines of communication and critical infrastructure are key tasks of NATO naval forces in the current security environment.
“Trade, movement and control of key territories are vital for our actors and stakeholders around the Baltic Sea.
“If necessary, we can collectively respond quickly and modify the security environment. »
NATO has quickly strengthened its defenses in the Baltics after recording at least six suspected sabotage incidents and 11 submarine cables damaged or disabled since 2022.
Beneath the frigid waters lies a network of critical infrastructure, making it an attractive target for gray zone warfare.
Pipelines and cables connecting the Baltic states to the Nordic grid, essential to Europe’s energy supply, lie in shallow waters.
For cunning Putin, it’s a low-risk, high-reward tactic to go after them.
With 2,000 large ships plying the Baltic Sea at any given time, the cunning tyrant uses the mantle of his ghost fleet to carry out sabotage attacks.
The fleet of unregistered ships evading Western sanctions, coupled with the scale of maritime traffic, makes it difficult to assign responsibility – something Vlad is all too aware of.
Explaining how NATO is working hard to track these shady ships, Commodore Huusko said: “We have a very good ship monitoring system in Finland and the Finnish Navy is a leader in building a maritime picture.
“But we will do it in collaboration with other Finnish authorities. For example, the border guard and maritime authorities.
“And we compile the information from these sensors, so to speak. And we also have ships there that fill in the picture.
“So we have a pretty good understanding of what’s going on there.
“After joining NATO there are more ships, for example this Baltic Sentry activity and also information that allows a better understanding of the maritime environment.
“When we compile all this information, we have a pretty clear picture of what’s going on.
“And it could also be a surprise for the actors who carried out these activities in the Gulf of Finland since we are able to show who was where at specific times.
“And in this way we can help our other authorities investigate these events. »
Putin also has an ace up his sleeve: Kaliningrad, from where the Kremlin can project significant military power and threaten NATO airspace and its control over large swaths of the Baltic Sea.
Around 90 percent of international waters are also less than 150 meters deep, making it easy to vandalize key cables by pulling anchors.
For Russia – which has the right to operate in these waters – the route through the Baltics is its economic jugular.
This revenue is essential to finance Vlad’s war machine in Ukraine, but Western sanctions have tried to curb Moscow’s exports.
But it appears to have angered Putin, with alleged sabotage attacks including a ship that severed the Estlink2 power cable by dragging its anchor across the seabed for miles last December, putting NATO on alert.
In January, the alliance launched the Baltic Sentry mission for deterrence purposes – with Exercise Freezing Winds the latest show of force.
It’s around -2°C as we board the Latvian navy ship LVNS Virsaitis, docked in the Finnish port city of Turku.
But strong winds are the least of the crew’s worries as we sail through the Gulf of Finland, flanked by a fleet of ships from allied countries.
Janis Auce, commander of Virsaitis, told me: “On the NATO side, we are seeing quite a lot of Russian activity in the region.
“We’re seeing that they’re running their operations and probably doing some hybrid things as well.”
Among the ships mobilizing in the harsh winter conditions is the German navy minehunting ship FGS Dillingen.
Equipped with autonomous underwater drones, its crew is capable of monitoring submarine cables, tracking submarine activity and detecting mines.
Commander Scholze explained how the REMUS underwater vehicle has the ability to detect threats and transmit data in real time.
The primary role of this bright yellow device is to locate and map sea mines, but it can also gather vital intelligence.
He said: “There is no connection between the ship and the drone.
“[When] we prepare a certain mission for a certain area, we do all this beforehand on the computer and then we connect the drone to the computer, putting all the information into the drone.
“Then we launch it and let the drone do its job.”
The crew also has the SeaFox, capable of locating and destroying mines, and the Deep Trekker, which can be used for search and recovery, inspections as well as data collection.
The Sun watched as the NATO fleet, including the FGS Dillingen, sailed in formation, led by the warship Niels Juel.
Armed to the teeth with drones, cannons and a helicopter, the alliance exposed tens of thousands of tons of steel just a few hundred kilometers from St. Petersburg.
It is about sending a message and demonstrating the will of NATO, especially since Finland is one of its new members and shares a 1,340 km border with Russia.
And Finland’s membership in NATO has created a new choke point for the alliance – with the Baltic Sea surrounded by allied nations except Russia.
The Gulf of Finland – a source of constant friction between Russia and NATO – could be the connecting thread that triggers all-out war.
The increased NATO presence underscores the threat and fear spreading across eastern Europe as Putin plots his next move.
The shattering Vlad eyes land in the Baltic region as he desperately tries to live out his imperial dream of reunifying the Soviet Union.
For now, NATO commanders have reassured that since they stepped up their activities earlier this year, no malicious damage has been caused to undersea assets.
But Putin only needs to cross the fragile line to trigger the powder keg in the Baltic countries.
“We are ready for Putin”
by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Journalist (Digital), Finland
SOLDIERS massacred in the snow and masses of frozen bodies piling up – that’s what happened the last time Russia dared to attack Finland.
“Putin should remember history,” one intrepid Finnish citizen tells me as she shrugs off the latest looming threat of Russian aggression.
Finland is one of NATO’s newest member states – joining after the power-mad Vlad showed his thirst for war by storming Ukraine.
With a sprawling 1,340km border, the peaceful Nordic nation now has the alliance’s longest line of contact with Russia as tensions with Europe flare.
And they have a unique history with the Russians – having fought one of the most brutal wars in history against them in 1939.
It ended in a bloodbath for the Red Army, with the deaths of over 130,000 poorly equipped soldiers and a humiliating peace treaty.
Although they are now supported by the United States, Britain and the rest of NATO, the Finns are well aware that they live in the shadow of the aggressive and bloodthirsty Kremlin.
Finland’s position has become even more crucial since joining the alliance in 2023 – and it could become a flashpoint if Putin turns his attention to the West.
But locals told me they weren’t afraid of Putin since The Sun was on site during NATO exercises in the port city of Turku.
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