MILITARY
Vermutlicher russischer Spionage-Wal vor Schwedens Küste gesichtet Sweden
May 30, 2023 -
Ein Belugwal ist vor der Küste von Schweden wieder aufgetaucht, vier Jahre nachdem er vor Norwegen gesichtet wurde. Er trug ein Geschirr, das sofort wieder zu Spekulationen führte, dass er für Spionage Tätigkeit von der russischen Marine trainiert wurde.
Named locally as Hvaldimir, the beluga first popped up off the coast of Norway in 2019, spotted by fishermen who noticed the whale was wearing a harness equipped with camera mounts. A fisherman alerted Norway’s Directorate of Fisheries, who said a clip on the whale’s harness read “Equipment St. Petersburg” – indicating it may have come from Russia.
“The whale seemed playful but our instincts said that it was also asking for help to get out of the harness,” Jorgen Ree Wiig, a marine biologist told CNN at the time. He said officials believed the whale had come from Russia and was trained by the Russian navy, which has “been known to train belugas to conduct military operations before.”
Russia has never addressed reports that the beluga could be a Kremlin spy, Business Insider said.