Royal Navy Claims to Have Warned off Russian Spy Ship from UK Waters

Thu Jan 23 2025
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Key points

  • Defence Secretary John Healey reported incident to MPs
  • It shows the seriousness of the UK monitoring the Russian activity
  • Russia said Yantar is an oceanographic research ship

ISLAMABAD: An attack submarine of the Royal Navy surfaced near an allegedly Russian spy ship off the UK coast in a warning to stop spying on British undersea cables, the defence secretary has revealed.

According to Sky News, John Healey reported the incident to MPs saying it happened in November; however, the research vessel, called Yantar, then returned to UK waters this week.

Defence Secretary John Healey said Russia “remains the most pressing and immediate threat to Britain”, and added that “any threat will be met with strength and resolve”.

To effectively counter the first spying mission, which passed through Cornish waters, he said he changed the navy’s procedures of engagement to enable British warships and the submarine to go closer to the vessel to better track its activities.

Message to Putin

In a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Healey said: “We see you. We know what you are doing. And we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country.”

It is not a common practice for the UK to show details about the movement of its top-secret fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

A decision to inform parliament that one of the submarines had appeared next to the surveillance vessel underscores the seriousness of the UK monitoring the Russian activity.

Mr Healey claimed Russian ship had been used for collecting intelligence along with mapping the UK’s underwater infrastructure.

NATO’s concern

The UK and its NATO allies are concerned about the risk that President Putin’s designs present to offshore cables, pipelines, and other infrastructure.

It is part of what British and American spy chiefs have labelled as a “reckless campaign of sabotage” across Europe by Russian intelligence officers.

The spy ship is considered to have been in the English Channel, heading east to the North Sea

UK’s monitoring

Mr. Healey said for the last two days, the Royal Navy has deployed Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset and patrol ship HMS Tyne to “monitor the vessel every minute through our waters”.

A P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft was also started to track the vessel from the above.

The defence secretary said the ship “has complied with international rules of navigation” and has then sailed into the North Sea.

Russia has said Yantar is an oceanographic research ship which is operated by its defence ministry.

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