Norway accuses "foreign intelligence" of sending marches and arrests the son of Putin's friend

Norway's Prime Minister accused "foreign intelligence" services of being behind the "unacceptable" flight of a large number of drones in the country's skies, hinting that Russia is the main culprit.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store accused "foreign intelligence" on Wednesday of being behind the "unacceptable" flight of a large number of drones in the country, pointing, indirectly, at Russia.

Earlier on Wednesday, Norwegian police announced the arrest of a Russian, the son of a close friend of President Vladimir Putin, on charges of illegally flying a drone in the Svalbard archipelago in the strategic geopolitical Arctic region.

He is the seventh Russian to be arrested within days on suspicion of illegally flying drones or taking pictures in restricted areas in the Scandinavian country, which borders Russia in the far north.

"It is clearly unacceptable that foreign intelligence is flying drones over Norwegian airports," Stock told Norwegian public broadcaster NPR, hours after seeing a drone near Bergen Airport, Norway's second-largest city, which led to the suspension of air traffic for a period. brief.

Along with many other Western countries, Norway banned Russians and Russian entities from flying over its territory after the Russian attack on Ukraine, whether by drones or by planes, which carries a three-year prison sentence, while unauthorized photography is punishable by one year in prison.

"High alert"

A number of mysterious parades have been recorded in Norway in recent weeks, which has prompted Oslo to beef up security around strategic infrastructure, particularly offshore oil and gas platforms.

The last Russian arrested in Norway was identified as Andrei Yakunin, the son of former railway chief Vladimir Yakunin who is considered close to Putin.

Andrei Yakunin, 47, who holds British and Russian citizenship, was arrested Monday in Hammerfest, northern Norway, according to police and court documents.

"The suspect confessed to flying a drone in Svalbard," police official Anya Mikkelsen said.

Svalbard has a relatively large Russian community, and its special legal status allows foreign nationals to extract some of its natural resources.

Police said Yakunin was held in custody for two weeks, and drones and electronic devices were confiscated from his possession.

For its part, the Russian embassy in Oslo said on Monday that "hysteria" in Norway affected "ordinary tourists", and described the ban imposed on Russians preventing them from flying drones as "unjustified and discriminatory."