Russia Using Holiday Homes for Hybrid Warfare on NATO: Report

Russian-linked vacation homes near NATO military sites are drawing scrutiny as potential footholds for espionage and sabotage, according to a Telegraph investigation into Moscow’s hybrid warfare campaign.

Officials in Sweden, Lithuania and Norway are taking action over hundreds of properties whose proximity to bases and critical infrastructure has raised security concerns.

They fear some could provide locations for surveillance, equipment storage or drone launches.

The most acute case centers on a waterfront house at the entrance to Sweden’s Muskö naval base. Stockholm considers its ownership a security threat and plans to seize it.

Sweden Moves to Secure Naval Approach

The seven-bedroom property belongs to Tatiana Sazonova, the wife of Russian oligarch and Putin ally Stanislav Aleshchenko, according to The Telegraph.

Registry records show she bought it for 18.6 million Swedish kronor, about £1.4 million, on August 14, 2017.

Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson said securing the site was essential to protecting the base, including against drones.

“It is the only site in the area that is not at the disposal of the Swedish armed forces, leaving a critical gap in the defense of the naval base,” he said.

The house sits on the southwestern tip of Muskö island, near a naval installation believed to contain three docks built for destroyers and submarines.

Its facilities include a private jetty for motorboats.

Swedish military reports describe excavation work involving dynamite to build a basement. Telegraph reporters found the house boarded up and surrounded by scaffolding this month.

Sazonova previously told the Swedish outlet Bulletin that she was unaware of the nearby military base when she bought the property. She did not respond to The Telegraph’s requests for comment.

Lithuania Restricts Ownership Near Sensitive Sites

Lithuania has adopted restrictions on Russian property ownership around sensitive locations.

Officials have identified Russian-linked purchases near the Šiauliai Zokniai and Panevėžys Pajuostis air bases, the Gaižiūnai training area and airports in Vilnius and Palanga.

Šiauliai hosts NATO’s air policing mission and is the Lithuanian air force’s principal base. Panevėžys Pajuostis is currently inactive but previously accommodated Soviet heavy transport aircraft.

Eitvydas Bajarūnas, a former Lithuanian ambassador to London who also worked on hybrid threats, said the concern extended beyond an immediate military attack.

“Not necessarily for immediate military action, but for intelligence gathering, surveillance, influence or even preparation for sabotage.”

Senior Lithuanian lawmaker Mindaugas Lingė warned that a property’s possible military uses mattered more than its stated purpose.

Sites beside bases could accommodate observers, equipment or preparations for drone and sabotage operations, he said.

Norwegian Cabins and Swedish Church Under Scrutiny

In Norway, cabins associated with Kremlin-connected figures overlook Bardufoss, a major military base that hosts F-35s.

Norwegian broadcaster TV2 reported that several properties at the nearby Målselv Fjellandsby winter sports resort have had Russian owners since 2010.

Swedish authorities are also pursuing the expropriation of a Russian Orthodox church opposite a strategically important airport in Västerås.

Swedish intelligence services have accused the church of being used to monitor the airport.

The Church of Sweden has separately warned against allowing the Russian Orthodox Church to use its premises after requests focused on locations near military installations.

Stockholm is expanding its powers to intervene in property holdings that threaten national security.

Legislation effective July 1 strengthened screening of transfers involving security-sensitive activities and enabled authorities to block unsuitable transactions.

Further proposals would widen scrutiny of foreign real estate purchases that could undermine Sweden’s defense interests, Jonson said.