Russia denies disrupting GPS signals during NATO exercises in the Arctic | News from the world


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Russia has denied being behind the recent disruption of GPS signals in Lapland after the Finnish Prime Minister said that the interference endangered civil aviation and was "almost certainly deliberate" .

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä said on state television Yle Sunday that the authorities were still investigating those responsible.

"Interrupting radio signals in free space is technically relatively easy and, yes, it is possible that Russia is involved in the disruption in this case," he said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was not to blame. "We do not know of Russia's involvement in the disruption of the GPS system. You will have to ask the experts from the Ministry of Defense. But you know that there is today a tendency to accuse Russia of all her sins, whether they are mortal or otherwise, "he said. "As a rule, these charges are unfounded."

Interference in satellite signals in the Arctic regions of Norway and Finland was first noticed during the two-week military exercises of the NATO Trident Juncture, which took place from 25 October to 7 November.

The satellite disruption has led operators in the Finnish and Norwegian civil airspace to formally warn pilots of the instability of navigational signals in northeastern Lapland.

A pilot of the Norwegian regional airline Widerøe reported a loss of GPS signals during a flight near Kirkenes near the Norwegian border with Russia in early November.

"There is no risk to safety, we have good routines and it is not the first time we encounter signal losses," said a spokeswoman for Widerøe at the site Barents Observer Internet.

In September 2017, the Norwegian authorities reported blocked GPS signals affecting civil flights in the north of the country during the great Russian military exercise Zapad.

Finnish parliamentarians lined up on Friday to demand a firm response to the blocking of signals. Defense Committee Chairman Ilkka Kanerva told Yle that the impact on civil aviation could have been "catastrophic".

During the military exercises of Trident Juncture, the most important since the end of the cold war, Russia has clearly expressed its dissatisfaction with what she saw as an anti-Russian show of force at her door, warning that NATO's action would not go unanswered. He then announced his intention to test missiles in the same area during NATO maneuvers.

Finland is not a member of NATO's military alliance, but has participated in Norwegian exercises under the status of "enhanced partner opportunities".

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