Advises Norway to Respond to Russian Hybrid Attacks

Ómar Mehmet Annisius, assistant chief superintendent in Suðurnes, Iceland, says to RUV that a bomb threat made against Keflavík Airport Thursday is not believed to be connected to threats made against passenger aircraft operating international flights.

The threat has been assessed as not credible, although the analysis department of ríkislögreglustjóri (National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police) is nevertheless examining the case.

“There is currently no information that actually links the events unfolding in Europe with the threat we received today, or with threats we have received in the past.”

The threat is considered not credible because police believe they know its origin. Police have received similar threats before. However, Ómar says he cannot comment on where the threat came from.

“We cannot comment further on that at present, but I would perhaps simply refer to media coverage of a similar threat made against other government institutions.”

Russia has shipped around 20 million barrels of oil to Asia through the Northern Sea Route (NSR) between July and mid-October. This is almost 50 percent more than during the whole of 2025, according to CBC.

NSR connects Russia’s western ports with Asian markets. The route is normally more expensive and riskier than traditional shipping lanes.

This year, however, disruptions in the Suez Canal, the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea have contributed to a sharp rise in freight rates along the passage.

For Russia, which controls the NSR, the route now appears to be a safer alternative to European waters, where tankers carrying Russian oil have been detained several times this year.

Russian Oil export volumes are expected to rise by a further 5-10 million barrels before the shipping season ends.

Today, Monday, Norway and Russia began negotiations on next year's fishing quotas in the Barents Sea. After having taken place in a digital format in recent years, the negotiations are now being held in the Turkish capital Istanbul between officials of the Joint Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission.

"This is the first time in six years that the meeting has been held physically. This is to better resolve some of the technical and administrative issues that are demanding," says Norwegian Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy Marianne Sivertsen Næss (Labor) to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.

The commission will set quotas for Northeast Arctic cod, Northeast Arctic haddock, capelin, Greenland halibut and beaked redfish, which are stocks jointly managed by Norway and Russia.

Particularly central to the negotiations is the cod quota, which has been reduced in recent years due to a decline in the stock. According to the minister, the quota cuts appear to have worked.

"Things look somewhat brighter for the near future. The fact that scientific advice has largely been followed has meant that the fluctuation is now starting to increase again," Næss states.

The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) has registered growing interest from state threat actors in Norway's coastal and maritime areas.

"We are seeing very significant interest in the Arctic and the High North from a number of countries. This mainly concerns Russia, but also China," Jon Fitje Hoffmann, director at PST, tild the norwegian broadcaster NRK.

According to Hoffmann, Russia is seeking to map Norwegian ports, communications cables, ans the thousands of kilometres of oil and gas pipelines on the seabed.

He said this could be part of general intelligence gathering, but could also serve as preparation for potential acts of sabotage.

PST is now urging the public to report unusual activity, including incidents that fall outside the normal pattern and people or vessels behaving suspiciously.

PST also advises individuals and businesses to be alert to unexplained friend requests on social media.

In the spring, Russian submarines simulated the deployment of new technology designed to disable critical undersea cables near Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. However, the Russian exercise was exposed and thwarted by Norway, the UK and the US, anonymous Western officials told Reuters.

More specifically, the exercise was reportedly conducted by Russia's Main Directorate for Deep-Sea Research (GUGI).

In April, the UK and Norway announced that they had been monitoring Russian submarines from the Kola Peninsula that attempted to map underwater infrastructure in the North Atlantic. The discovery of the new weapon near Svalbard and the US involvement have not been previously reported.

Last Wednesday, the Governor of Svalbard placed the Russian vessel “Professor Moltsjanov”, which was docked in Barentsburg on Svalbard, under arrest.

The following day, Russia’s ambassador Nikolay Korchunov announced that Russia would appeal the decision and demand the ship’s release.

On Monday morning, Hålogaland Court of Appeal and Nord-Troms and Senja District Court told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that no appeal has yet been filed in the case.

Norway has eased restrictions that previously prevented allied surveillance aircraft from tracking Russian nuclear submarines operating out of bases on the Kola Peninsula, reports the Barents Observer.

The change means that allies can now operate closer to Norwegian areas than before, provided the missions are coordinated with Norwegian authorities.

The adjustment comes in response to an increased allied need for situational awareness in the Barents Sea and a more challenging security environment in the High North.

Norwegian authorities emphasize that operations will remain controlled and predictable.

Last week, construction of Murmansk, the ninth nuclear submarine of the Yasen M class, began at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, reports the Russian state news agency TASS.

The Russian Navy currently operates five Yasen M-class submarines. In addition to Murmansk, three more submarines of this class are under construction. These will become part of the Northern Fleet and the Pacific Fleet.

The submarines are armed with the Oniks and Kalibr cruise missiles and may in the future be equipped with the Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile, TASS writes.

During this year's High North Dialogue conference in Bodø, Northern Norway, the conference received several emails regarding password resets. Someone was trying to access the conference's website.

This was reported by Nord University.

Communications advisor Markus J. Thonhaugen at the High North Center says they were well prepared.

"I was not worried. We had already changed to a strong password and backed up the website. Everything was in our risk assessment," says Thonhaugen.

The High North Dialogue brings together politicians, diplomats and business leaders from all over the Arctic. The threat picture from the Police Security Service, the National Security Authority, and the Intelligence Service is clear that such conferences can be arenas for intelligence.

Therefore, the High North Center began security work as early as late 2025.

Senior advisor John Viktor F. Skjerstad in the Department for Quality and HSE followed the process closely.

"The High North Center has been an example to follow for how security work at events should be done at Nord University," says Skjerstad.

In a survey conducted on behalf of Norwegian telecompany Telenor, 59 percent of respondents in Northern Norway said they are concerned that the mobile network could be put out of service as a result of sabotage.

"No one can promise that the network will never go down. But Telenor has built a network, a system and an organization that is ready to handle most challenges and crises", says Birgitte Engebretsen, CEO, Telenor Norway, in a press release.

Both the Intelligence Service, the Police Security Service and the National Security Authority point to sabotage of infrastructure as a scenario to be prepared for that could hit Norway at any time. Over the past five years, Telenor has invested 14 billion in modernizing and securing its networks.

Russian energy major Gazprom Neft has discovered a new oil field on the Yamal Peninsula that is the largest discovered in the region in three decades, according to a company release.

The new find is located in the Arctic zone of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, home to the world's largest natural gas reserves but also a region with significant oil potential. Drilling and exploration are challenging as the peninsula is almost entirely covered by permafrost.

The field is part of a large oil and gas cluster in the southern part of the peninsula, according to the company. It was discovered after three years of exploration. Estimated geological reserves are 55 million tons, the company's press release stated.

The Russian researcher Alexey Dudarev was arrested on January 14th in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is accused of treason and could face life in prison.

Dudarev works as a senior researcher at the Northwestern Scientific Center for Hygiene and Public Health in St. Petersburg. He has published extensive research in both Russian and international journals for several years.

According to First Department, a group of independent Russian human rights lawyers in exile, the indictment is based on Dudarev’s open publications in international journals under the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), of which he was a co-author. The programme is part of the Arctic Council, in which Russia also participates.

Investigators claim that information from these articles could be useful for Norwegian intelligence. Dudarev denies the charges, and his family says he has never had access to state secrets.