The threat of Russian operations against Finland’s critical infrastructure has increased and Moscow is ready to take action against Finland, Helsinki’s intelligence service said on Thursday, as quoted by AFP and The Moscow Times.

“The threat of espionage and influence operations against critical infrastructure has increased,” said Antti Pelttari, director of Finland’s Security and Intelligence Service (Supo), at a press conference on the occasion of the country’s annual security report.

Pelttari also said that relations with Moscow have “deteriorated significantly” since the Scandinavian country joined NATO in April this year, and that Russia is “ready to take action against Finland”.

The presentation of the Supo assessment this week coincided with the opening in Helsinki of an investigation into an alleged act of sabotage on the Balticconnector gas pipeline connecting Finland to Estonia on the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

An investigation into the cutting of an underwater telecommunications cable in the same incident is being delayed by Estonia because the cable passed through its exclusive economic zone.

Damage to the gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia will not threaten the supply of natural gas

Asked about Russia’s possible involvement in the incident, Peltari declined to speculate, but said “the involvement of a state actor cannot be ruled out.”

The Finnish government, in turn, urged not to jump to conclusions until the investigation is complete and was careful not to name Russia as a possible culprit.

Gasgrid, the operator of Finland’s natural gas transportation system, said that despite the closure of the pipeline due to its damage, the system is operating stably and there is no threat of interruption of the supply of the coolant in winter thanks to the import of liquefied natural gas. gas from the USA.

“Gazmera” also announced on Wednesday that the repair of the gas pipeline will last at least 5 months.

Finnish intelligence says that a large-scale Russian operation remains unlikely for now

Finland’s intelligence agency says that operations to “cripple” the country’s infrastructure “remain unlikely in the near future” and that any possible Russian threat would likely be aimed at “deterrence”.

“The energy sector is an example of an effective target in this sense,” says Suvi Alvari, an analyst at Supo.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday promised a “decisive response” from the military alliance if an investigation into the damage to the Balticconnector shows it was the result of a deliberate attack.

The Finnish police unit in charge of the investigation said on Wednesday that the damage to the pipeline was likely caused by “mechanical force” rather than an explosion.

Finland became NATO’s 31st member in April, while Estonia and two other Baltic states, Latvia and Lithuania, joined the alliance in the 2004 enlargement wave, when Romania and Bulgaria also joined.