Norway is putting its military on a raised level of alert, moving more personnel on to operational duties and enhancing the role of a rapid mobilisation force in response to the war in Ukraine – although the prime minister said there was no reason to believe Russia intended to invade.
“This is the most severe security situation in several decades,” Jonas Gahr Støre told a news conference on Monday.
“There are no indications that Russia is expanding its warfare to other countries, but the increased tensions make us more exposed to threats, intelligence operations and influence campaigns.”
Gahr Støre said there was “no reason to believe that Russia will want to invade Norway or any other country directly”.
“We must be more vigilant,” he added. “I don’t believe ordinary people will notice any change.”
Norway would also seek to bring its new fleet of US-made P-8 Poseidon submarine-hunting maritime patrol aircraft into regular operation at a faster pace than originally planned, the chief of defence, Gen Eirik Kristoffersen, said.
The armed forces would spend less time training and more time on operational duties, and the home guard, a rapid mobilisation force, would play a more active role, the defence minister, Bjørn Arild Gram, said.
The air force had called off training in the US with its F-35 fighter jets, preferring to keep them in Norway, said Kristoffersen. “We expect this situation to last for at least one year,” he said.
Gahr Støre stressed that nothing had happened in recent hours to cause the increase of preparedness, which was “due to developments over time”.
Norway has a 198km (123-mile) border with Russia in the Arctic.
Last week, Norwegian authorities detained a man who they said posed as a Brazilian scholar but was allegedly a Russian intelligence officer suspected of spying. Norway’s PST domestic intelligence service said his name was Mikhail Mikushin.
The suspect was detained in Tromsø, where he worked at the Arctic University of Norway.
Several Russian citizens have been detained in Norway in recent weeks, chiefly for being in possession of drones or allegedly photographing subjects covered by a photography ban. Most have since been released.
European nations have heightened security measures around key energy, internet and power infrastructure after underwater explosions ruptured two natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea built to deliver Russian gas to Germany.
The damaged Nord Stream pipelines off Sweden and Denmark discharged huge amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the air.
The Russian embassy in Oslo has alleged that authorities there have used drone and ship sightings, as well as incidents involving Russians with cameras, to fuel a “spy mania”.
