NATO chief says allies concerned about Russian phone jamming

BRUSSELS, Belgium — NATO allies are raising concerns about what they call Russia’s use of a kind of electronic warfare during military exercises last month that jammed some phone networks, alliance Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says.

“At least two allies have reported about that,” Stoltenberg tells reporters after chairing talks in Brussels between ambassadors from NATO and Russia. He says it highlights the need for Russia to be more transparent with war games “to make sure there are no miscalculations, misunderstandings, because these kinds of activities can have serious effects.”

Phone services in Latvia, Norway and Sweden’s Oeland islands were reported to have been shut down for a few hours during the Sept. 14-20 Zapad exercises that Russia held with Belarus. The jamming is suspected to have been launched by a Russian communications ship from the Baltic Sea.

Norway’s intelligence chief, Morten Haga Lunde, said in Wednesday’s edition of the Aftenposten newspaper that Russia had also used a kind of electronic attack that could have endangered civilian aircraft in the area.

“There were exercises in GPS jamming — in electronic warfare,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (C), accompanied by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov (R), watches the joint Zapad-2017 (West-2017) Russian military exercises with Belarus at the Luzhsky training ground in the Leningrad region on September 18, 2017. (AFP/Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev)

— AP