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The British military has successfully foiled a Russian submarine operation targeting the UK’s undersea infrastructure, Defence Secretary John Healey has revealed.
Speaking directly to Vladimir Putin, Healey said: “We see your activity around our cables and pipelines, and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences.”
The operation involved a Russian Akula-class nuclear-powered attack submarine and two specialist vessels from Russia’s Ministry of Defence deep-sea research programme, known as GUGI.
The Royal Navy, assisted by P8 maritime patrol aircraft, monitored the submarines around the clock in collaboration with Norway and allied forces.
According to Healey, the Akula served as a decoy in international waters in the High North, while the GUGI vessels attempted to survey critical undersea infrastructure within the UK’s exclusive economic zone. After a month of surveillance, all three submarines returned to Russian waters.
“Our armed forces made it clear they were under surveillance and that their movements were not covert, as President Putin had planned,” Healey said. “Their attempted covert operation has been exposed. Russia wants us to be distracted, but we remain vigilant.”
The Ministry of Defence has reported a 30% rise in Russian naval activity near UK waters over the past two years. Assets deployed during the operation included the Type 23 frigate HMS St Albans, the tanker RFA Tidespring, Merlin helicopters, and RAF P8 aircraft.
The warning comes amid ongoing concerns about Britain’s defence capabilities and after comments from Donald Trump, who described the UK’s two aircraft carriers as “toys.” Healey rejected the description, adding: “The North Atlantic operation demonstrates the UK’s capabilities and the readiness of our armed forces.”
Defence experts said the operation sent a clear signal to Moscow that attempts to compromise vital undersea infrastructure would be detected and countered.
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