European country ready to blow up £64m bridge connecting it to Putin’s Russia | World | News
Norway is making plans to blow up bridges across the country in the event of a Russian invasion. One of the bridges in question may be the Bøkfjord Bridge, which connects Norway to its Slavic neighbour.
The bridge, which opened to much fanfare in 2017, was part of a new cross-border road link that also included a tunnel. This was supposed to symbolize good relations between the two countries and was expected to increase trade. “We have common interests in further developing cooperation in business, trade, education, environment and other fields,” Minister Ketil Solvik-Olsen said at the time.
The Norwegian government has invested a whopping 880 million kroner (£64 million) in the infrastructure project.
The bridge is 284 meters long and was built in Germany before being pulled to its current location over the Pasvik river to replace the old Elvenes Bridge.
But as relations with Russia deteriorate following Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Oslo is now working on plans to destroy key transport links in the event of war.
according to VG newspaperThe Norwegian government is in the process of establishing procedures for so-called ‘communication jamming measures’ for bridges and other infrastructure.
The government draws inspiration from the Ukrainian military, which sabotaged and destroyed key transport links to frustrate Putin’s forces.
“Objects that the Armed Forces want to destroy in wartime in order to delay the enemy’s advance must be prepared in peacetime,” Anders Haavik-Nilsen, representative of the Norwegian Defense Real Estate Agency, told VG. “This increases the impact and reduces the cost,” Anders Haavik-Nilsen, representative of the Norwegian Defense Real Estate Agency, told VG.
The Norwegian military refuses to disclose which transport infrastructure will be chosen for self-destruction.
Some new bridges in Norway are believed to have “communication jamming measures” on them. However, it is unclear whether the Bøkfjord Bridge is one of them.
