UK exposes covert Russian submarine operation

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Britain and its allies tracked a month-long covert Russian submarine operation in and round UK waters, defence secretary John Healey introduced on Thursday.

The operation concerned a Russian Akula-class assault submarine and two spy submarines, which have since retreated, he informed a press convention in Downing Avenue. He added that the assault submarine was in all probability a decoy.

“My message to Putin is that we see you over our cables and our pipelines,” mentioned Healey, who added that the Royal Navy had dropped sonar buoys to warn the Russian submarines “that their covert operation had been uncovered” and drive them off.

The escalation in Russian exercise in an space of the Atlantic north of the UK was detected by the UK navy whereas worldwide focus was on the Center East after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran.

“I’m fairly clear that Putin would have wished us to be distracted by the Center East,” he mentioned, including that “we recognise Russia as the first risk to Britain and to Nato”.

Healey mentioned two of the submarines belonged to Russia’s Important Directorate of Deep Sea Analysis — often called GUGI — which consultants say runs covert maritime surveillance programmes.

An FT investigation into GUGI revealed final 12 months revealed the extent of covert operations across the UK by Yantar, a Russian spy ship.

within the autumn of 2023, Yantar was one in all a number of Russian naval vessels that congregated in British waters for 13 months of sustained surveillance round nodes of important infrastructure beginning, when Moscow was rising surveillance actions on Nato allies following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Healey mentioned that, in response to the current presence of Russian submarines, he deployed UK armed forces. “A Royal Navy warship and Royal Air Pressure P8 plane alongside allies ensured that the Russian submarines had been monitored 24/7.”

A Russian Akula-class submarine had “subsequently retreated residence, having been intently tracked all through, and we continued to observe the 2 GUGI submarines in and round wider UK waters.”

Satellite image showing Russian naval base Olenya with the Yantar research vessel and a GUGI-associated submarine docked at the port. — Two of the submarines belonged to GUGI, the Russian directorate that runs covert maritime surveillance programmes © UK MOD Crown copyright

Britain’s armed forces “left them in little doubt that they had been being monitored, that their actions weren’t covert, as President Putin deliberate, and that their tried secret operation had been uncovered,” Healey mentioned.

“These GUGI submarines have now left UK waters and headed again north.”

Addressing Russian President Vladimir Putin instantly, Healey mentioned: “To Putin, I say this: we see you, we see your exercise over our underwater infrastructure. You must know that any try to break it won’t be tolerated and would have severe penalties.”

UK authorities officers have grown more and more involved in recent times concerning the safety of subsea fibre optic cables, which transmit huge volumes of web information, and underpin world banking and communications.

Healey mentioned there was no proof that any cables or pipelines had been broken throughout the latest Russian incursion.