- Norwegian PST warns of increased likelihood of Russian sabotage against Norway over the coming year.
- Most probable targets are defence firms and their service providers; critical infrastructure, including energy, is also at risk.
- PST has not uncovered sabotage attempts in Norway but warns actors linked to Russian intelligence have mapped infrastructure and targets.
Norwegian intelligence on Thursday said there was an increased risk that Russia would carry out sabotage against targets in the Scandinavian country.
The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) said in a statement that it had noted an uptick in the number of sabotage incidents in 2026, and that the security situation contributed “to increased risk-taking by Russian intelligence services”.
“We believe there is good reason to expect that Russian intelligence will carry out sabotage in Norway in the coming year,” said Inger Haugland, director of PST’s department for state actors.
The agency said sabotage actions enlisted different methods but mentioned the discovery of a drone near a Ukrainian transport aircraft in Germany as a recent example, noting that German authorities had publicly suggested that Russia may be behind the incident.
In an updated threat assessment, PST said the most likely targets in Norway were “defence-related enterprises and companies that provide services to them” but critical infrastructure, such as the energy sector, could also be targeted.
“The PST has not uncovered attempts at sabotage operations against Norwegian targets. However, the PST is aware that actors linked to Russian intelligence have mapped infrastructure and targets in Norway,” Haugland said.
PST noted that “the majority of operations in Europe have been carried out by proxies” and said individuals recruited could sometimes be “unaware that a state actor is behind them”.
Norway, a NATO member sharing a 198-kilometre (125-mile) land border with Russia in the Arctic, is a strong supporter of Ukraine.
