"Could be a cover for sabotage": Swedish are concerned about the appearance of a new ROC church

A new church of the Russian Orthodox Church on the outskirts of the city of Västerås in Sweden has raised concerns among local security experts. Markus Göransson, a researcher at the University of Defense, believes that Russia could use the church as a “springboard for special operations and sabotage.” This is reported by Politico.

«The church is a potential springboard that can be used to gather information aimed at both Vasteras Airport and industrial interests in the form of large companies involved in the energy sector. When the Swedish Defense Forces conduct exercises at or near the airport, as they did in June, they do so under possible supervision by the church. It was a stupid decision to allow a church to be built in close proximity to the airport, and it has since proved to be even more stupid,” said Markus Göransson, a researcher on Russia at the Swedish Defense University.

Despite Göransson’s position, it is worth noting that the application for the construction of the ROC church was approved back in February 2017. At that time, the city’s planning committee did not have serious concerns about the location of the building, as well as the placement of housing and a canteen in the same place. It is noted that Westeros Airport is a backup airport that is available around the clock for use in case of military or civilian emergency.

Earlier, the Belgian media proposed a public discussion on the presence of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belgium. A journalist from one of the publications accuses the ROC of threatening national security and the Belgian government of still sponsoring the Russian Church. The media compared the “threats” emanating from the Russian Orthodox Church to the problem of Islamization of Belgium and called for the issue of restricting the activities of the ROC in the country.