A Norwegian sailor came across an unusual sight while sailing off the western Swedish coast, Aftonbladet reported.
Peter Ingebregtsen, 32, said he was sailing his boat near Smögen when he noticed something unusual in the water. Because of the fog, he was not sure what he saw, but about 500 meters away, the silhouette became clearer: a submarine.
The young Norwegian sailor was not aware that a Russian submarine was sailing in front of him. Peter assumed that the submarine was Danish. However, he later learned from the news that it was a Russian submarine. "If I had known it was Russian, I would have been more worried," the Norwegian said.
He said that 30 minutes later, Swedish warships and fighter jets arrived. They escorted the submarine, and there was no incident.
The Swedish Armed Forces announced that they had discovered a Russian submarine in international waters in the Baltic Sea on Tuesday. The submarine is said to have entered the Baltic Sea through the Sturabelt Strait, heading towards the Kattegat.
The Swedish Navy said that it was a "routine operation carried out in close cooperation with our allies." This is happening against the background of increased tension between the NATO countries and Russia.
Russia, which has been waging a full-scale war against Ukraine since 2022, has carried out several provocations against alliance countries, including sending drones and fighter jets into their airspace. Moscow has been waging a hybrid war against NATO and the EU for years.
Tensions in the Baltic Sea have increased significantly since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022. In January, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that Sweden was "not at war, but not at peace either." The country ended two centuries of military neutrality by joining NATO in 2024. Kristersson said the entire Baltic Sea region was subject to "hybrid attacks," including damaged undersea cables.