HMS St. Albans sails during an exercise off the coast of Cornwall, England, Jan. 22, 2017. The ship was part of a team that tracked and exposed covert Russian submarine operations in the High North according to a U.K. statement released Thursday. (Dave Jenkins/U.K. Defense Ministry)
Britain and Norway spent more than a month tracking three Russian submarines in waters north of Europe during an operation to deter the vessels, which ultimately returned to Russia, the U.K. Defense Ministry said Thursday.
The successful deterrence of the submarines should put Russian President Vladimir Putin on notice that the U.K. and its allies won’t tolerate covert operations against critical undersea pipelines and cables, the ministry said in a statement.
“We see you, we see your activity over our underwater infrastructure,” U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey said in the statement, speaking directly to Putin. “You should know that any attempt to damage it will not be tolerated and would have serious consequences.”
Healey’s words follow repeated warnings by U.S. military officials in recent years that Russian submarine activity in the High North is increasing and that cooperation between Moscow and Beijing is expanding, particularly in the Arctic.
In addition, the Baltic Sea has seen suspected sabotage events in recent years, such as the destruction of undersea communication cables.
NATO countries accuse Russia of carrying out such gray-zone warfare in Europe because of Western military support for Ukraine.
In the most recent example of Russia’s presence in the region, U.K. military personnel identified a Russian attack submarine that had entered international waters in the High North several weeks ago, the defense ministry said. The ministry did not say exactly when the submarine was discovered.
Working alongside Norway and other unidentified allies, U.K. ships and aircraft subsequently tracked the submarine’s activity and determined that it was acting as a decoy to divert attention from two other Russian submarines, according to the statement.
Those vessels, part of Russian reconnaissance operations, were loitering near critical undersea infrastructure in another location, the U.K. said.
After the U.K. and its allies made it apparent that they were monitoring the submarines, the vessels retreated and returned home, the defense ministry said. The ministry did not specify exactly when the submarines left the area.
There is no evidence any damage was done to U.K. cables and pipelines, the BBC reported Thursday.
Healey also pointed out that the Russian undersea activity occurred while attention was focused on conflict in the Persian Gulf.
“As we act to defend our interests and allies in the Middle East, we are tackling increasing threats to NATO in the High North, maintaining strong support for Ukraine and protecting our UK homeland,” he said.
