“Food on board” – Delivery on board blocked: Kremlin threatens Norway

Svalbard is located between the north coast of Norway and the North Pole and is part of Norway. However, under a treaty signed in 1920, Russia has the right to mines in the archipelago. Some settlements there have since been inhabited mainly by Russians, even though the population has fallen sharply in recent decades.

According to Russian sources, the currently blocked supply concerns food supplies for miners. Russian foreign policy expert Konstantin Kosachev accused Norway of violating international obligations under the Paris Treaty of 1920. According to this, all contracting states would have equal rights to work, trade and navigation in the Spitsbergen area. “The Soviet Union acceded to the document on May 7, 1935, and Russia participates in it as the successor to the USSR,” the foreign policy expert wrote on his Telegram page.

Hacker attacks on Norwegian infrastructure
At the same time, numerous private and state institutions in Norway were the target of a hacker attack. “A criminal pro-Russian group appears to be behind the attacks,” Norwegian security service NSM said. There have been repeated attacks in the past 24 hours.

“We have recently seen similar attacks in other countries,” said NSM director Sofie Nystrom. On Monday, there was a cyber attack on state and private companies in Lithuania. Russian hacker group Killnet confirmed the attack to Reuters news agency. The move was in retaliation for the dispute with Lithuania over the transit ban on certain goods to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.