Escalation in the Baltic Sea? Russia's secret service publishes explosive report

Merkur Escalation in the Baltic Sea? Russia's secret service publishes explosive report Simon Schröder • 5 hours • 2 minutes reading time Putin's propaganda Russia is trying to undermine Ukraine even before negotiations on a possible ceasefire. Ukraine is said to be planning a "false flag operation". Moscow - Russia accuses Ukraine of planning a so-called "false flag operation" in the Baltic Sea. The Russian foreign intelligence service (SWR for short) claimed on February 11 that the Ukrainian military intelligence service (GUR for short) was planning an attack on a foreign ship in the Baltic Sea. This is what the "Institute for the Study of War" (ISW) wrote in its report of February 11. The Russian secret service also said that another Western country was involved in the operation. The aim of this operation would be to blame Russia for the attack and to use the attack as a pretext for NATO to block Russian access to the Baltic Sea. Furthermore, NATO could exploit the situation to involve Russia in a direct conflict, speculates Russian intelligence. According to the SWR, Ukraine is also planning several attacks on Russian opposition politicians living abroad. There have been repeated incidents with the Russian shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea. The "Eagle S", part of the shadow fleet, was detained by the Finnish coast guard. Part of the shadow fleet? The oil tanker Eagle S is anchored near the port of Kilpilahti in Porvoo, Finland, in the Gulf of Finland. Russia accuses Ukraine of attacks in order to discredit Kiev The ISW, meanwhile, writes that the SWR report is "information-related prerequisites for possible false flag attacks in the Baltic Sea and against Russian opposition politicians". According to the ISW, these accusations are intended to undermine future peace negotiations in Ukraine. The ISW report goes on to say: "The Russian secret service SWR has previously accused Ukraine and other Western states of planning false flag attacks to discredit Ukraine and drive a wedge between Western unity and Ukraine." In April, Ukraine warned of Russian false flag operations at the nuclear power plant near Zaporizhia. The online portal Diskursmonitor writes about the term: "A deceptive maneuver (a so-called 'false flag operation') that directs responsibility for an attack on one's own resources (for example a terrorist attack) onto an opposing party, group or nation and attempts to conceal the actual source of the causation." These false flag operations are primarily part of intelligence and military methods. In public discourse, the term is used as a method of defamation, as is the case with Russia. Russia and propaganda: disinformation about the Ukraine war in Germany Russia has been trying to influence public opinion in Germany since the beginning of the Ukraine war. The federal government writes that it is observing an "increased emergence of disinformation" by official Kremlin bodies, but also on social networks. "The Russian government is focusing on efforts to gain control over the interpretation of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which violates international law." Part of this propaganda is also to discredit the enemy, i.e. Ukraine, and thus further justify the Ukraine war. A study in early 2024 examined the Kremlin's propaganda and shows how tactically the Russian propaganda machine has been operating since the beginning of the Ukraine war. Even after the end of the Ukraine war, Russia will probably continue to stir up sentiment against the West.