The U.K. has intercepted a Russian warship and an accompanying tanker off Britain’s southern coast over the past two weeks, the British government said, shortly after raising concerns about Russian surveillance activity in nearby waters.
HMS Severn tracked Russia’s Stoikiy corvette and the Yelnya tanker in what the Ministry of Defence described on Sunday as a “round-the-clock shadowing operation.” Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defence Ministry for comment by email.
British Defence Secretary John Healey had warned earlier in the week about the presence of the Yantar, a Russian intelligence-gathering vessel, near U.K. waters. Healey said the ship had pointed lasers at British pilots monitoring it and had entered U.K. waters twice this year. He called the incident “deeply dangerous.”
London says it has seen a 30 percent rise in Russian vessels judged to pose a threat to U.K. waters over the past two years. Along with other NATO members, the U.K. has pledged to boost defence spending and accelerate procurement in response to Russia’s military build-up.
According to the Defence Ministry, the Stoikiy and Yelnya sailed through the Dover Strait—between southeastern England and northern France—before continuing west through the English Channel. A NATO ally later took over monitoring duties off the coast of Brittany, the ministry added.
Russian naval movements through the Channel have been closely watched in recent months. Two British warships and a helicopter squadron shadowed the Stoikiy in May. The Yantar was also seen off the British coast in January and intercepted near France.
Healey said the Yantar is used by the Kremlin to map undersea cables and was detected off Scotland. He added that while British P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft were observing the vessel, pilots were targeted with lasers, and HMS Somerset and nearby civilian ships experienced GPS jamming. The Defence Ministry said the warship’s combat capabilities were not affected.
Last month, HMS Duncan tracked the Russian destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov through the Channel, following a separate operation in which a British frigate shadowed the Novorossiysk submarine and a tug boat through the same waters.
NATO nations are stepping up protection of critical undersea infrastructure, including pipelines and cables on the seabed. These cables carry about 98 percent of global data traffic and are vital to everyday communications and services. However, policing such vast networks remains difficult, despite new NATO initiatives and trials of uncrewed technology to detect and deter threats.
Healey said the government’s message to Moscow is clear: “We see you. We know what you’re doing.”
Commander Grant Dalgleish, the commanding officer of HMS Severn, said the operation underscored the importance of patrol ships and close coordination with NATO allies in securing U.K. waters and international shipping routes.
