Ignis FL800S (Whirlpool design) starts and stops spinning

I have an Ignis FL800S which is about 4-5 years old. Yesterday it started acting up in very specific way: When it starts spinning and speeds up, you can hear a strange sound that is difficult to describe, and then stops and all lights on the front panel start blinking together in unison. I have searched online for solutions but everything that I found seems to be focused on the drum not spinning at all or problems with the machine not finishing the program, which is not my case. The machine seems to pump and drain water properly. I would appreciate your ideas and help in fixing this.