Russian spy ship found ‘gathering information’ in UK waters
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Britain’s defense secretary has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that he will “not back down from strong action” after telling parliament that a Russian spy ship had been operating in British waters for the second time since November.
John Healey says a Russian spy ship, the Yantar, has been tracked by a warship in the English Channel oscillating around critical undersea infrastructure. A Royal Navy submarine surfaced near Yantar to warn that every move was being watched.
“Let me be clear, this is a Russian spy ship used for surveillance and intelligence on the UK’s critical underwater infrastructure,” Haley told the House of Commons on Wednesday.
“My message to President Putin is clear. “We know what you are doing and we will not back down from taking strong action to protect Britain.
Haley added: “We will continue to call out the dangerous activity led by Putin, targeting Russian shadow vessels.”
Yantar, meaning amber in Russian, was now out of the Dover Sea and in Dutch waters, Healy said.
It was spotted off the UK coast in November as it returned to the Channel this week and headed for the Mediterranean. Also alerted by a Royal Navy submarine this week, the frigate was flanked by the patrol vessel HMS Somerset and HMS Tyne.
After the recent damage to several power transmission lines and data cables in the Baltic Sea, NATO allies have stepped up surveillance to protect critical maritime infrastructure from sabotage attempts.
In the past 15 months, three ships have damaged underwater Baltic cables and pipelines.
Last month, Finland used a helicopter to seize a Cook Islands-registered oil tanker, the Eagle S, which was transporting oil from Russia to Egypt.
Although Healey said the navy had relaxed its rules so that British warships could now approach suspicious vessels to investigate what they were doing, Britain did not have to do the same.
“Like a submarine deck,[this]is specifically designed to deter and discourage the kind of activity we don’t want to see on our waters,” Healy said.
He added that Britain would “stand ready to take action” if it needed to intercept a suspicious vessel.
Following Russia’s 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine, Western suspicion of Russia’s activities has increased with a series of NATO-backed moves to strengthen its military alliance and subsequent attacks on several countries.
Last week, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced the launch of a new mission to monitor underwater infrastructure called Baltic Sentry. The UK has launched an AI-powered computer system to help it track key areas of interest, including drones, submarines, ships and aircraft.
Cartography by Steven Bernard