Russian support ship Nefrit conducted slow, suspicious patrols along the Lithuanian and Latvian coasts, inspected by Latvian Navy and tracked by Swedish and Estonian forces on April 22, 2024.

Military & Paramilitary OperationsConventional Military PressureNaval intimidation / close approaches

Aggressor

Summary

On April 22, 2024, the Russian support ship Nefrit was observed making a notably slow steam along the coasts of Lithuania and Latvia. The vessel, though nominally civilian, was last week patrolling near Kaliningrad waters during Baltic Fleet missile exercises. During its slow movement, the Latvian Navy conducted an inspection. Both Nefrit and an inspecting Latvian ship switched off their AIS signals approximately 24 minutes prior to observation. A Swedish minesweeper passed within 1 kilometer of Nefrit near 01:00 UTC, and Estonian ISR aircraft (callsign 44 BLACK) also monitored the ship at noon UTC. Satellite Sentinel-1 imagery confirmed no towing or other vessels were behind Nefrit. This pattern of suspicious naval activity signals Russian presence and intelligence operations in the Baltic Sea, raising concerns over covert maritime maneuvers in proximity to NATO states Lithuania and Latvia.

Classification

Confidence: High

The event describes a Russian naval ship performing slow, suspicious patrols near NATO Baltic state coastlines with attempts to evade tracking (AIS off), inspected by Latvian Navy, and monitored by Swedish and Estonian forces, which constitutes a clear Russian military intimidation and reconnaissance operation.

Source URL

https://x.com/i/web/status/1782750405933318638

Open source

Provenance

Publisher: csv-import
Submitted: Feb 13, 2026, 19:25 UTC
Last updated: Nov 8, 2026, 20:45 UTC
Event time: Apr 22, 2024, 01:00 UTC

Published as a hybrid-warfare signal with a public source and reviewer-approved assessment bands. See the methodology for how records are assessed.

Raw record

{
  "id": "3a93f5ee-b2e1-4a62-8414-ec78d72c1265",
  "url": "https://x.com/i/web/status/1782750405933318638",
  "source": "csv-import",
  "status": "approved",
  "category": "Military & Paramilitary Operations",
  "subcategory": "Conventional Military Pressure",
  "incident_type": "Naval intimidation / close approaches",
  "country": "Lithuania",
  "source_reliability": "A",
  "info_credibility": "2",
  "tags": [
    "Russian navy",
    "Nefrit",
    "Baltic Sea",
    "Latvia",
    "Lithuania",
    "Naval patrol",
    "AIS switching off",
    "Latvian Navy",
    "Swedish navy",
    "Estonian ISR",
    "Satellite imagery",
    "Naval inspection",
    "Russian military activity"
  ],
  "nodes": [
    "Node 1: Borders"
  ],
  "countries": [],
  "where_text": "Maritime",
  "headline": null,
  "description": "The Russian supply ship Nefrit, identified by IMO number 9297773 and nominally a civilian vessel, was tracked moving slowly along the coasts of Lithuania and Latvia on April 22, 2024. The ship's speed was only a fraction of normal cruising speed. The vessel had previously patrolled near Kaliningrad during Russian Baltic fleet missile exercises a week prior. Latvian Navy conducted an inspection of Nefrit, but both ships disabled their AIS transponders shortly after. Swedish naval presence was also notable, with a minesweeper passing within one kilometer, and Estonian reconnaissance aircraft 44 BLACK monitored the vessel. Satellite analysis from Sentinel-1 confirmed no other vessels or towed objects trailing Nefrit, dismissing initial Russian intentions to conceal something in tow. The slow, covert movement along NATO state coastlines coupled with inspections indicates potential Russian naval intimidation or intelligence-gathering operations in the Baltic Sea.",
  "summary_short": "Russian support ship Nefrit conducted slow, suspicious patrols along the Lithuanian and Latvian coasts, inspected by Latvian Navy and tracked by Swedish and Estonian forces on April 22, 2024.",
  "summary_extended": "On April 22, 2024, the Russian support ship Nefrit was observed making a notably slow steam along the coasts of Lithuania and Latvia. The vessel, though nominally civilian, was last week patrolling near Kaliningrad waters during Baltic Fleet missile exercises. During its slow movement, the Latvian Navy conducted an inspection. Both Nefrit and an inspecting Latvian ship switched off their AIS signals approximately 24 minutes prior to observation. A Swedish minesweeper passed within 1 kilometer of Nefrit near 01:00 UTC, and Estonian ISR aircraft (callsign 44 BLACK) also monitored the ship at noon UTC. Satellite Sentinel-1 imagery confirmed no towing or other vessels were behind Nefrit. This pattern of suspicious naval activity signals Russian presence and intelligence operations in the Baltic Sea, raising concerns over covert maritime maneuvers in proximity to NATO states Lithuania and Latvia.",
  "actor_primary": "Nefrit",
  "target_primary": null,
  "location_text": "Coasts of Lithuania and Latvia",
  "location_region": null,
  "location_coordinates_lat": 55.169438,
  "location_coordinates_lon": 23.881275,
  "location_precision": "Approximate",
  "is_aggressor_signal": true,
  "signal_type": "HYBRID_SIGNAL",
  "is_hybrid_war_signal": true,
  "classification_complete": true,
  "hybrid_signal_complete": true,
  "classification_confidence": "High",
  "classification_rationale": "The event describes a Russian naval ship performing slow, suspicious patrols near NATO Baltic state coastlines with attempts to evade tracking (AIS off), inspected by Latvian Navy, and monitored by Swedish and Estonian forces, which constitutes a clear Russian military intimidation and reconnaissance operation.",
  "event_time_utc": "2024-04-22T01:00:00.000Z",
  "end_time_utc": "2024-04-22T12:00:00.000Z",
  "event_time_confidence": "pm6h",
  "created_at": "2026-02-13T19:25:08.958Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T20:45:15.993Z",
  "reliability_band": "strong",
  "location_precision_band": "approximate",
  "time_precision_band": "within_6h",
  "severity_band": "moderate",
  "attribution_confidence_band": "high",
  "attribution_basis": "single_source"
}

Public assessmentReliability: StrongSeverity: ModerateAttribution: HighSingle sourceTime: Within 6 hoursLocation: Approximate

Source reliability

Info credibility

Event time

Apr 22, 2024, 01:00 UTC

End time

Apr 22, 2024, 12:00 UTC

Event time confidence

pm6h

Location

Coasts of Lithuania and Latvia

Primary actor

Nefrit

Country

Lithuania

Tags

Russian navy, Nefrit, Baltic Sea, Latvia, Lithuania, Naval patrol, AIS switching off, Latvian Navy, Swedish navy, Estonian ISR, Satellite imagery, Naval inspection, Russian military activity

Nodes

Node 1: Borders

Loading signal...

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