British authorities have disclosed that Russia has dispatched three submarines to monitor the UK’s vital undersea pipelines in the North Atlantic. This revelation came to light on Thursday, highlighting Russia’s strategic maneuvers in the region.
Defense Secretary John Healey directly addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing the Kremlin of deploying these submarines to collect intelligence on British infrastructure. This move follows a history of sabotage incidents targeting European networks.
“I’m issuing this statement to spotlight this Russian activity,” Healey declared. “To President Putin, my message is clear: We are aware of your operations concerning our cables and pipelines.”
According to Healey, the British military dedicated over a month to tracking these submarines. Two of the vessels are affiliated with Russia’s Main Directorate of Deep Sea Research, highlighting their specialized espionage role.
The third submarine, identified as a Kremlin attack vessel, was ostensibly used to divert British attention, allowing the other two submarines to conduct their alleged surveillance activities.
Specific details regarding the submarines’ locations or the specific cables and pipelines under observation were not disclosed by Healey.
The British military, however, sent a direct warning to Russia that “any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences,” he added.
After the submarines were caught monitoring the UK’s undersea cables, the submarines were tracked heading back home towards Russia, Healey said.
Russia has been repeatedly accused of sabotaging underwater fiber-optic cables in the Baltic Sea, with one operation in 2024 allegedly cutting off lines connecting Sweden to Lithuania and Finland to Germany.
Moscow has repeatedly denied allegations that it orchestrated the cuts of the underwater lines in the Baltic Sea.
The Kremlin did not immediately issue a statement about Healy’s allegations.
Along with trying to use an attack submarine to distract the UK, Healy claimed that the Kremlin issued the alleged espionage action to occur while Britain and NATO were distracted with the war in Iran.
“Putin would want us to be distracted by the Middle East,” Healey said. “We are not just exposing his covert operation, but we are saying to him that we recognize Russia as the primary threat to the UK and to NATO, and that we will not take our eyes off Putin.”
