Russia has been trying to get their hands on intelligence data on the energy infrastructure of the Netherlands in the North Sea in the last few months, head of the Dutch intelligence agency Jan Swillens is quoted as saying by Reuters.
“Russia is mapping how our wind parks in the North Sea function. They are very interested in how they could sabotage the energy infrastructure,” he said.
It is claimed that a Russian vessel was found near an offshore wind farm in the North Sea which tried to map out the structure.
Marine and coast guard vessels escorted the Russian ship out of the North Sea before the Russians managed to obtain the data, Swillens noted.
Earlier, Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra announced that several Russian diplomats would be expelled from the country. It was not clear how many staffers would have to leave the Netherlands. According to the minister, the Russian embassy would soon have the same number of diplomats as the Dutch mission to Russia, or around ten people.
The decision was made due to the fact that Russia continuously sends spies disguised as embassy workers to the Netherlands and refuses to issue work visas to Dutch diplomats.
Last March, the Netherlands expelled 17 Russian diplomats from the country. According to the national cabinet, the expelled diplomats were spies working undercover. In response, Russia ordered 15 Dutch embassy staffers to leave. The Dutch government reported that negotiations on new diplomats were held since then but they “ran into a deadlock”.
