New Russo-European meeting in the Old Continent as Portuguese Air Force Aircraft Identified and began following Russian oceanographic vessel on January 18th. According to Lisbon, the Moscow vessel entered Portugal's EEZ, raising concerns over its suspicious intentions.
Fears of Undersea cable sabotage
Given the recent cases of sabotage in the Baltic, the Portuguese are concerned about the integrity of their undersea cables and pipelines.
The Portuguese Air Force, in an official statement, mentioned: "One of our aircraft tracked a Russian Federation vessel crossing the Portuguese EEZ on January 18th."
The Portuguese Air Force ordered the aircraft crew to monitor the movements of the Russian oceanographic research vessel minute by minute, which was carrying submarines for deep-sea naval exploration.
Few more details are known about the incident. The name of the Russian research vessel remains unknown, and the type of aircraft used by the Portuguese Air Force to monitor the target is also unidentified.
"Our Air Force strengthens the effort to monitor its strategic national interest area, ensuring a continuous and strong presence to control areas of interest and to assist in the safety and protection of Portuguese territorial waters," concluded Lisbon's statement.
We remind you that just a few days earlier, the Portuguese Navy revealed it had been closely monitoring five warships sailing near the southwestern European state's coastline.
According to reports from local media, Portugal sent its own warships to escort the Russian vessels away from its shores. It is said that this "naval interception" process took place multiple times in recent days.
Indeed, the area around Portugal has been "heating up" during the period from November 2024 to today.
"Since we are in the Atlantic, and because you have to pass through the Atlantic first to get to the Baltic and then to the Arctic or Russia, these movements from Moscow are normal," explained a Portuguese military expert.
Nevertheless, the Lisbon military remains on alert, fearing a potential plan to damage Portuguese undersea cables. Such acts of sabotage have occurred recently in the Baltic, as you can read here.
