A British submarine surfaced close to a Russian spy ship loitering over critical UK underwater infrastructure to deter any potential threat, Defence Secretary John Healey told Parliament.
He explained to MPs that he had changes the rules of engagement for the Royal Navy so it could get close to the Yantar vessel, currently in the North Sea having passed through the Channel during which is was monitored by HMS Somerset for two days.
Mr Healey said the ship was intelligence-gathering, including on UK underwater cables and other infrastructure.
He stressed it was the second time the vessel had entered UK waters, the first being in November.
Mr Healey said the Yantar had been “loitering” over UK undersea infrastructure.
“To deter any potential threat I took measures and steps then as part of a clear and direct response to the Russian vessel,” he added.
RAF maritime patrol aircraft were deployed, as were two Royal Navy warships and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s Proteus to follow it.
“Today, I also wanted to confirm to the House that I authorised a Royal Navy submarine, strictly as a deterrent measure to surface close to the Yantar to make clear that we had been covertly monitoring its every move,” Mr Healey told the Commons.
“The ship then left UK waters without further loitering and sailed down to the Mediterranean.”
Mr Healey emphasised that the Royal Navy was closely watching Russian vessels.
In a message to Vladimir Putin and his “grey war” activities, the Defence Secretary stressed “we see you, we know what you are doing and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country.”
As part of action to counter potential threats from Russia, the Royal Air Force will provide aircraft to a new NATO deployment seeking to strengthen protection of offshore infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.
Britain will deploy P-8 Poseidon and Rivet Joint maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft for the Baltic Sentry activity, which was announced following damage to the Estlink2 undersea cable between Estonia and Finland.
In response to that incident, Sir Keir Starmer held talks with his Estonian and Finnish counterparts as Britain activated Nordic Warden, an advanced new AI system to monitor the Russian shadow fleet.
