A British submarine secretly tracking a Russian spy ship hanging around undersea cables suddenly surfaced close to send a message, UK says
The UK has tracked a Russian spy ship in its waters twice in recent months.
In November, a British submarine followed the vessel and surfaced near it to turn it away.
British defense secretary Healey said the Russian ship is mapping undersea cables and gathering intel.
A UK submarine quietly tracked a Russian spy ship hanging around undersea cables in British waters last fall and then surfaced close to force the vessel to leave, the UK Ministry of Defense shared Wednesday.
The Russian vessel was again spotted in British waters this week, and UK Defense Secretary John Healey accused it of mapping out undersea infrastructure and gathering critical intelligence.
Healey addressed the House of Commons on Wednesday, discussing Russia’s maritime activities. The Russian spy vessel Yantar, he explained, is in the North Sea after passing through British waters. Two Royal Navy vessels, the HMS Somerset and HMS Tyne, were deployed “to monitor the vessel every minute through our waters,” he said.
Healey accused Yantar of mapping the UK’s undersea cables in the area. “Let me be clear, this is a Russian spy ship used for gathering intelligence and mapping the UK’s critical underwater infrastructure,” Healey said.
Western officials have raised concerns about hybrid warfare and other threats to undersea cables critical to global data transmissions. Cables have been damaged multiple times in recent months. It remains unclear if these incidents, which have been linked to Russia and China, were intentional.
Healey said that he adjusted the Royal Navy’s Rules of Engagement to allow UK vessels to sail closer to track the Yantar.
The Russian-linked oil tanker accused of sabotaging undersea cables between Finland and Estonia was detained by Finland after the incident last month.Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva/AFP
This week’s appearance is the second involving the Yantar sailing in British waters in recent months. Healey confirmed on Wednesday that back in November, the spy ship was “detected loitering over UK critical undersea infrastructure.” The MOD said the same.
In response, Healey deployed three Royal Navy vessels and a maritime patrol aircraft to shadow the Yantar. He also authorized a Royal Navy submarine to surface closely to the Russian spy ship as a deterrence measure, making “clear that we had been covertly monitoring its every move,” Healey said.
The UK defense secretary said the incidents were the latest examples of concerning Russian activity around critical infrastructure, especially in light of recent incidents.
Russia has long engaged in hybrid warfare tactics against NATO, and those have increased since the start of the Ukraine war. These tactics, along with other hybrid warfare efforts, are seen by officials and military leaders as tricky to respond to because they’re just below the threshold of conflict.
The UK’s response includes sanctions on ships believed to be part of Russia’s Shadow Fleet and closer communications with allies on tracking movements.
Healey also said the Royal Air Force would provide a P-8 Poseidon and Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft to the Baltic Sentry NATO deployment specifically to monitor undersea cables in the Baltic Sea.
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