Norwegian intelligence services claimed Wednesday that Russia would "likely" launch sabotage attacks against the country sometime this year, potentially targeting energy infrastructure or aid sent to Ukraine.
The head of the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST), Beate Gangas, said that while the EU had seen dozens of such attacks since the end of 2023, her unit had not found any evidence yet of Russian sabotage in the Scandinavian country.
"However, PST deems it likely that Russian intelligence will try to carry out sabotage actions against targets in Norway in 2025," she said, presenting the body's annual threat assessment report.
"The objective of such actions would be to stop our deliveries to Ukraine or to influence public opinion in a negative way," Gangas added.
Norway, a member of NATO, shares a land border with Russia in the Arctic, as well as a maritime border in the Barents Sea.
"As for state actors, we expect Russia to remain the main security threat in Norway," Gangas said.
The Russian embassy in Oslo did not immediately reply to AFP's request for comment.
Norwegian authorities plan to spend 135 billion kroner ($18.8 billion) in civil and military aid to Ukraine between 2023 and 2030.
Since Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Norway has overtaken Russia to become the European Union's top natural gas supplier.
"Norwegian-owned energy infrastructure may also be a target for sabotage in the year ahead," PST said in its annual report.
At the same time, Norwegian intelligence services reported a "significant" risk of espionage from China, which "should increase in the long term," as well as from Iran and North Korea.
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