In the area around the site of Estonia's sinking, there is a diving ban. Despite this, NATO suspects that Russia is using the wreck to spy on the military alliance, according to an investigation by German public service media and Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Several NATO countries are said to have information that Russia has placed technical equipment on or in the wreck that makes it possible for underwater drones and robots to navigate with high precision. Russia is also suspected of hiding military sensors that can capture propeller sounds and the like from NATO countries' warships and submarines.
Fully possible, says Hans Liwång, professor of defense systems at the Defense University, to Sveriges Radio.
He is convinced that Russia is using wrecks in the Baltic Sea, but at the same time believes that Estonia is a poor choice given the risk of detection.
It is more suitable for them to be in other places on the bottom where you can also hide, but which are not as noticed.
Liwång believes that NATO should visit the site to check the information.
Estonia lies at a depth of around 80 meters, about 35 kilometers southeast of the Finnish Utö. The location between Sweden, Finland, and the Baltics is, according to NATO sources to the German media, an ideal place for intelligence gathering, which, given the diving ban, can take place undisturbed.
During the Accident Commission's Estonia investigation, which began in 2020, no signs of Russian espionage were seen, says investigation chairman Jonas Bäckstrand to the radio.
