Norway Braces for Increased Russian Espionage in the Arctic Region

Increased Russian Espionage in Norway

By Nerijus Adomaitis

Focus on Military and Energy Targets

OSLO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Russia is expected to step up spying in Norway this year, focusing increasingly on the country's Arctic mainland and the Svalbard archipelago, the Norwegian domestic security service PST said on Friday, also warning of sabotage risks.

Recruitment of Ukrainian Refugees

Norway, an ally of Ukraine and Europe's top supplier of pipeline gas, has been increasingly concerned that Russian intelligence agencies could target its energy infrastructure, either physically or via cyber attacks.

Recent Cyber Attacks and Sabotage

"We expect Russian intelligence services to increase their activity in Norway in 2026, with a continued focus on military targets and allied exercises, Norway's support for Ukraine, and operations in the High North and the Arctic region," PST said in its annual threat assessment report.

"The northernmost counties and Svalbard are of particular interest and therefore especially exposed to intelligence and influence activities," it added.

PST said Russia is likely to continue surveillance along the rugged Norwegian coastline and mapping its critical infrastructure with the use of civilian vessels.

ARCTIC ACTIVITY

Norway, a NATO member that shares an Arctic border with Russia, monitors Russian military activity in the North Atlantic and the Kola Peninsula, the base of Russia's Northern Fleet and some two-thirds of Russia's second-strike capability - its ability to answer a nuclear attack with its own.

Last August, PST pinned a cyber attack on a hydropower dam that briefly took control of its operations on Russia-linked hackers, accusing Moscow of becoming a more dangerous threat.

The Russian Embassy in Oslo said such accusations were "unfounded and politically motivated".

PST repeated its warning about such risks on Friday.

"Russian intelligence may see benefit in carrying out sabotage operations on targets in Norway in 2026," it said.

The most likely targets are property and logistics infrastructure associated with support for Ukraine against Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion, but civilian infrastructure may also be affected, it added.

PST also said that Russian services are increasingly trying to recruit Ukrainian refugees in Norway to gather intelligence or carry out sabotage.

Refugees with family or property in Russian‑occupied areas of Ukraine are especially vulnerable to coercion, it added.

With roughly 100,000 Ukrainian refugees in Norway, such recruitment efforts pose "a major challenge", PST said.

There has been a wave of arson, sabotage and cyberattacks in Poland and other European nations since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis; editing by Mark Heinrich)