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Britain’s defense minister has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that “we will not hesitate to take strong action” after he told parliament that a Russian spy ship was operating in British waters for the second time since November.
John Healey said the Russian spy ship Yantar was spotted in the English Channel by a warship after wandering over critical underwater infrastructure. A Royal Navy The submarine surfaced near the Yantar to warn that its every move had been monitored, he said.
“To be clear, this is a Russian spy ship used to gather intelligence and map the UK’s critical underwater infrastructure,” Healey told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
“My message to President Putin is clear,” he said. “We know what you are doing and we will not hesitate to take strong action to protect Britain.”
“We will continue to denounce the malign activities led by Putin, suppressing the Russian shadow fleet,” Healey added.
Yantar, which means amber in Russian, had now left the Strait of Pas de Calais and was in Dutch waters, Healey said.
It was sighted off the British coast in November, after which it then sailed towards the Mediterranean, returning to the English Channel this week. In addition to being alerted this week by the Royal Navy submarine, it had been flanked by the frigate HMS Somerset and the HMS Tyne, a patrol boat.
NATO allies have stepped up surveillance of critical maritime infrastructure to protect it against sabotage attempts after several power pipelines and data cables were damaged recently in the Baltic Sea.
Three ships have damaged underwater cables and pipelines in the Baltic in the past 15 months, all while dragging their anchors across the seabed.
Finland used a helicopter last month to board and seize the Eagle S, a Cook Islands-registered tanker suspected of sabotage while transporting oil from Russia to Egypt.
The United Kingdom has not had to take similar measures, although Healey said he had relaxed the rules of naval engagement so that British warships could now close in on suspicious vessels to inspect what they do.
“Like surfacing the submarine (it’s) specifically to deter and discourage the kind of activity that we just don’t want to see in our waters,” Healey said.
He added that if there was a need to interdict a suspect vessel, the UK would “certainly be prepared to act”.
Increased Western monitoring of suspicious Russian activities is the latest in a series of NATO-sponsored actions aimed at strengthening the military alliance following Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and subsequent acts of sabotage against several countries.
Last week, Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, announced a new mission called Baltic Sentry to monitor underwater infrastructure. Made up of drones, submarines, ships and planes, the UK has also activated an AI-assisted computer system to help monitor key areas of interest.