During a recent military exercise, NATO rented houses belonging to Russian politicians connected to the dictator Putin. This information has already been confirmed by the Swedish and Norwegian authorities.
What is known about the new scandal surrounding NATO
20,000 military personnel from 13 countries participated in the new large-scale exercises of the Nordic Response Alliance.
What is essential to understand is that they took place last month near the tourist area of Troms in northern Norway.
5 years ago, holiday homes were built there, primarily for Russian tourists.
As journalists managed to find out, the official owners of these houses are:
Mayor of Murmansk Igor Morar;
daughter of the long-term deputy of the Murmansk Regional Duma Viktor Saygin;
head of the Russian atomic icebreaker fleet "Atomflot" Alexander Timofeev.
These tiny houses are often called "Russian cottages".
In addition, it is emphasized that they are in a militarily sensitive area near the Bardufoss military airport and the headquarters of the Norwegian army.
How NATO comments on this scandal
The spokeswoman of the Armed Forces of Sweden, Sofia Kalmeborg, has officially confirmed the information that journalists managed to find out.
According to her, the department did not know about the ownership of the houses, and it did not have the appropriate procedure for verifying ownership.
According to our estimates, there was no risk of the information falling into the hands or ears of others, says the spokeswoman of the Swedish Armed Forces.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Har Støre also commented on this scandal.
We have to keep a close eye on this question — who owns real estate in Norway? Where? and can it pose a security threat? he asked.
