UK Defense Minister John Healy reported that over the past few months, the Russian intelligence ship "Yantar" entered British territorial waters twice. The first time was in November last year, and the latest incident occurred on January 20. To monitor its actions, British authorities mobilized Royal Navy ships, military aircraft, and a submarine, writes Reuters.
Britain stated that it intends to strengthen response measures to secret operations of Russian ships and aircraft in an attempt to protect underwater cables. "We will not shy away from taking decisive action to protect the UK," Healy said on Wednesday.
He reported that the Russian spy ship, used for reconnaissance and mapping of critical underwater infrastructure, entered British waters on Monday, and the Royal Navy tracked it for two days until it entered Dutch waters.
When in November 2024, this same ship was spotted near the UK's important underwater infrastructure, a decision was made to surface a submarine as a warning.
"We are strengthening our response measures to ensure that Russian ships and aircraft cannot secretly operate near UK or NATO territory," Healy noted.
After the cables were damaged in the Baltic Sea, the UK decided to send aircraft for maritime patrol and surveillance to help NATO protect the cables, Healy announced, adding that it will also deploy an advanced artificial intelligence system to help protect underwater infrastructure.
The Defense Minister informed Parliament that, given the activity of the Russian spy ship, he changed the rules of engagement to allow Royal Navy ships to approach closer and better track it. Healy called the actions of the ship "Yantar" "another example of growing Russian aggression."