1/ A Norwegian fishing vessel was shot at by a Russian warship in the Barents Sea in Norwegian territorial waters. The encounter happened after the Norwegian vessel refused to move from its fishing lines despite being commanded by the Russian military.
The 15-meter MS Ragnhild Kristine was fishing in Norwegian waters when it was approached by the 163-meter-long Russian warship Admiral Levchenko, which was conducting a military exercise.
"This is Russian Warship, you need to leave the area," the Russian captain radioed. But Norwegian captain Øystein Orten refused, stating they had every right to be there.
The Russian destroyer then charged at the small boat, coming within 200 meters, cannons pointed. The crew could hear the foghorn blaring for 15 seconds, followed by a warning shot that shook the hull.
(Image taken from the Norwegian vessel)
Luckily, the fishermen were not hit, but the message was clear. They were forced to move west for several hours before being allowed to return to their lines.
Despite the delay and the dramatic events, the fishing was largely unaffected, and they caught plenty of fish.
Øystein Orten, the Norwegian skipper, downplayed the incident, saying the shot was not live, but he criticized Norwegian authorities for not taking stronger action to prevent such military exercises in Norwegian waters.
The Norwegian military acknowledged the incident and reiterated that ships are not required to leave Norwegian economic zones during military exercises.
The Russian embassy in Oslo has said they are unaware of the event, but tensions over military exercises in contested waters continue.
This incident happened the 12. September, a week before Norway and it's government was to decide on a big aid package for Ukraine.
Unsuprisingly the package was way to small and way to late!
Norway is letting Putin dictate Norwegian foreign policy...
@Regjeringen
⛔️Correction⛔️
In the first tweet is says "territorial waters". This is a mistake, it should be "Norwegian Economic Sone" as stated later in the tread.
It was a mistake in the translation from "New Norwegian" using a word "Farvann" that can mean both.
Still a insane incident!
@DrRebeccaGower @CovertShores It's an article in NRK. Norwegian state broadcaster. They are forced to write a % of articles in New Norwegian.
Neither New Norwegian nor English is my first language, so the translation was a bit tricky 😅
nrk.no/mr/russisk-kri…
The captain of the fishing vessel states that the crew was forced to work through the night, staying up for over 24 hours, to get the fishing lines up.
The boat also lost around €9.000 because of reduced catch since they were forced to leave. A big chunk of their earnings.
This incident is just one in a string of more or less serious incidents where Russia have tested Norwegian resolve.
Spy ships, spies, drones, ships with explosive material parked in areas with oil platforms or docks, internet cables cut and much, much more.
High time to react?
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