Russia has secretly strengthened its nuclear submarine defences in the Arctic by using Western-made technology bought through fake companies and covert deals, The Washington Post reported.
Financial records, court documents, and investigations by the International Consortium for Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) reveal that Moscow built an advanced undersea surveillance network, codenamed Harmony, to monitor US submarines operating near Russian waters.
The project, stretching across the Barents Sea and other Arctic waters, acts as a protective shield for Russia's nuclear submarine fleet, a crucial part of its ability to launch a retaliatory nuclear strike if attacked.
The network was built using advanced sonar systems, underwater drones, deep-sea antennas, and specialised ships. Much of it reportedly came from US and European suppliers. Russia is believed to have hidden its involvement by funnelling purchases through Mostrello Commercial Ltd, a Cyprus-based front company at the heart of the secret procurement scheme.
Court records show that Mostrello bought tens of millions of dollars' worth of sensitive maritime equipment, pretending it was for civilian use. In reality, the Western-made parts were used in Harmony, an underwater sensor system designed to detect Western submarines entering Russian waters.
"This is Russia's effort to reduce America's ability to surveil areas around submarine bases and trail their submarines from deployment," said Bryan Clark, a former US naval official and submarine officer, as per WaPo. He said Harmony helps Russian submarines move "in and out of port without being detected, harassed, or interdicted."
Mostrello operated in plain sight for years, exploiting weak export controls and using layers of intermediaries to mask its Russian connections, according to documents obtained by NDR (Germany) and Pointer (Netherlands). The network's purchases stretch back more than a decade and involve companies in the US, UK, Norway, Sweden, Italy, and other NATO nations.
Some Western firms, including EdgeTech from Massachusetts and R2Sonic from Texas, said they did proper background checks and didn't know their equipment would be used by Russia. In some deals, contracts even had Russian text or listed Moscow-based firms, signs later flagged by investigators.
The operation came to light after a CIA tip in 2021 led German authorities to open an investigation. In 2022, Alexander Shnyakin, a Kyrgyz-born resident, was arrested and later sentenced to five years in prison for coordinating illegal purchases for Mostrello.
Following the raids, the US Treasury sanctioned Mostrello and other firms tied to Russia's defence network. When reporters visited Mostrello's Cyprus office, they found it abandoned.
Experts say the Harmony system likely spans from Murmansk to Franz Josef Land, forming an Arctic shield for Russia's Northern Fleet. Its Western-made sensors and fibre cables can spot foreign submarines and help Russian vessels evade tracking.
Norway's intelligence chief Vice Admiral Nils Stensones said Russia uses "complex procurement networks" with legitimate European companies to disguise its military end users.
"The failure to block these acquisitions has real security consequences," said a Western naval official. "It shows that Russia's shadow networks are still several steps ahead."
