According to CNN, “Planned Russian naval exercises within Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) are ‘not welcome’ or ‘wanted right now,’ Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister has said, as tensions between Russia and the West continue to simmer over fears that Moscow is planning an invasion of Ukraine. Russian naval exercises are due to take place in early February, approximately 240 kilometers (149 miles) off Ireland’s southwest coast, Simon Coveney said in a statement late Sunday. The area is in Ireland’s EEZ but not its territorial waters.” That’s odd. But why off the coast of Ireland of all places?
Rewind a couple of years. From The Irish Post, “Russian agents have been sent to Ireland to inspect undersea cables which connect the United States to Europe. … The cables in question are underwater fiber-optic cables which carry internet signals from North America to Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe. … Ireland acts as a landing point for thirteen of these cables, and the Times are reporting that agents from the GRU – Russia’s military intelligence agency – have been sent to Ireland to map their locations. … There are fears that Russian agents are monitoring the cables so that they can be tapped, altered and even cut in times of conflict. … It’s estimated that around 97% of all intercontinental data is transferred through these cables [emphasis added].”
Add to this all of Russia’s cyberattacks on the U.S. and European countries. None of this is coincidental. In isolation, all these “micro” incidents spread out over years and across the globe may seem unrelated and trivial, but I think it is part of a grander Putin plan. I think Russia has been preparing for years, which means any invasion into Ukraine is just the beginning of something larger. Do not underestimate the seriousness of Russia’s moves. The time is right. The world is distracted with COVID and America is particularly distracted with figuring out if we want to keep our democracy or not. Putin’s fifth column is already hard at work in America; it’s called the RepubliKKKlan Party and Faux News. I fear there is far more going on here. We are headed for some disastrous encounters, which could easily spiral out of control. It’s just a gut feeling; I’ve been known to be wrong on occasion. But I have a very bad feeling about this! I also had a bad feeling about COVID in January 2020 before all hell broke loose, though back then my bad feeling wasn’t bad enough. Yikes!