Major fears Russia could target Atlantic web cables off Irish coast after pipeline blast
RUSSIA could target the underwater Internet cables which connect Europe to the US off the Irish coast, a politician has warned.
Last January, a few weeks before Vladimir Putin launched his deadly invasion on Ukraine, a band of Irish fishermen faced down a flotilla of Russian warships in Irish waters near west Cork.
They claimed they were in the area to perform military drills but pulled out as an “act of goodwill” after Defence Minister Simon Coveney wrote to his Russian counterpart.
But after the Nordstream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea was bombed this week, cutting off Russian gas to the rest of Europe, Fianna Fail MEP Billy Kelleher has said it would be “naive” to think the warships were in the area at the time carrying out routine manoeuvres.
He told the Irish Sun: “Ireland is in a unique position in that we are the closest country to mainland Europe.
“All communications between the US and Europe goes through a series of cables which run very close to the coast of Ireland. What do you think Russian warships were doing in that area earlier this year?
“It’s likely they were doing a full blown recce. And after they blew up the Nordstream pipeline we have to be aware that Putin is capable of anything.
“Russia is a rogue, terrorist State and we have to treat it as such. What if they target those communications cables? The effect it could have on Internet connections and stock markets could be catastrophic. It could cripple the world economy.”
IMPORTANT ROLE
Mr Kelleher said we needed to monitor any Russian presence in the area but Ireland was not capable of defending the cables.
He added: “Ireland has a very important role to play in all of this because of our closeness to mainland Europe and the cables coming directly from the US.
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“But the Irish Defences Forces does not have the military might to protect those cables from Russian aggression.
“We need to monitor the waters and our skies closely as best we can because the Russian war has to capabilities of really expanding and now Putin has threatened the west with nuclear weapons we need to stay very alert.”
There are currently 16 cables running under the Atlantic connecting the USA with Ireland, the UK, and mainland Europe but specifically France, Germany and Holland.
WORLD'S INTERNET
Some of the cables come ashore off the west coast in the Mayo area and then go on to Dublin and Britain, while others divert to France about 150 miles off the Cork coastline.
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A huge amount of the world’s internet data is carried along the cables which effectively connects the old western world with the new world.
British, French and American naval forces have regularly been in the area all year trying to protect the undersea connections from possible Russia attacks.
Irish Army Ranger and Independent TD Cathal Berry has previously warned that Ireland was a sitting duck for a cyber attack.
He also claimed that the Irish Navy does not have the sonar equipment to detect submarines in our waters and to stop them interfering with the cables.
He warned the Dail this week: “We were defenceless yesterday and we still are defenceless today.
“We are playing Russian roulette with Irish sovereignty and our territorial integrity.
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“We have absolutely no means of policing our airspace, and no means of properly patrolling our home waters and we are very very vulnerable and very exposed from that point of view.
“We spend less than one third of what other EU countries spend on defence.
