Russia’s jamming of GPS signals marks a shift in its non-conventional attacks against the Baltic states, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Friday.
“They [Russia] are moving from the cyber domain, disinformation domain, towards a more physical one which affects airplanes, daily lives of people in our region,” he said in a joint news conference with his new Latvian counterpart Baiba Braže in Vilnius.
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania warned last month that Russia’s jamming of GPS signal was increasing the threat of aviation incidents.
Estonia on Wednesday summoned Russia’s chargé d’affaires to protest the jamming of GPS signals which led to disruptions in Tartu Airport.
The Estonian Foreign Ministry said in a press release that it “has caused serious damage to air traffic in our region, the clearest example of which is the suspension of flights between Helsinki and Tartu”.
Braže told the news conference in Vilnius that “it’s not a new phenomenon but it leaves a certain sort of consequence that is worrying”.
Landsbergis called for sanctions on those responsible for these actions, adding that “it is also very important to send a message to Moscow that they are not operating in a grey zone”.
“If they expect us to be silent, if they expect us to be quiet about the things that are happening, they are definitely not going to get that. We see, we know, and we act against it,” Lithuania’s foreign minister said.
This week, several European countries summoned Russia’s diplomats over hybrid and cyber-attacks orchestrated by Moscow or groups linked to it.
Sure, that would be a proportional response. But it would probably help Russia in their war against Ukraine because Russia doesn’t really have effective GPS guided munitions, but Ukraine does.
Is it possible that Russians are GPS jamming to protect targets in their territory, and the Baltics are feeling the disruption as well because of how close they are to Russia?
yes, possible, but also stupid, because any jammer is also like a beacon that guided weapons can target without the need for GPS. maybe they are that desperate though.
They’ve been desperate for a while. They rolled into the country with their uniforms ready for a victory parade in Kiev. Instead they’ve had their military stomped. The massive stockpiles of USSR supplies were a one-time thing, and a LOT of that is destroyed.