Key Points
- The UK confirmed the Russian intelligence vessel Yantar is working close to Scotland and monitoring undersea cables.
- The Royal Navy and RAF monitored the ship after it directed mild lasers at UK pilots throughout the operation.
The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the Russian Navy’s intelligence vessel Yantar is working close to UK territorial waters, prompting a heightened army response amid issues about threats to vital undersea infrastructure.
In a press release issued Wednesday morning, Defence Secretary John Healey mentioned, “A Russian spy ship – the Yantar – is on the sting of UK waters, north of Scotland, having entered the UK’s wider waters over the previous few weeks.”
The vessel, identified for towing sensors able to gathering seabed intelligence and mapping underwater communication cables, was carefully tracked by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. “The Royal Navy deployed frigate HMS Somerset, and the Royal Air Force deployed P-8 plane to trace the vessel’s each transfer,” Healey mentioned.
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The Yantar, formally categorized as an oceanographic analysis ship, has lengthy been suspected of conducting covert surveillance actions, notably involving NATO infrastructure beneath the North Atlantic.
“This is a vessel used for gathering intelligence and mapping undersea cables, dragging sensors behind it,” the Defence Secretary famous.
During the monitoring operation, UK authorities reported hostile actions directed at army plane. “The Yantar directed mild lasers at our pilots,” Healey mentioned, referring to an incident involving RAF P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol plane. No accidents had been reported, however the habits was described as “unprofessional” by British officers conversant in the operation.
This is the second time in 2025 that Yantar has appeared in waters surrounding the UK. British protection officers view the vessel’s exercise as a part of a broader Russian marketing campaign focusing on maritime infrastructure, together with subsea web cables and vitality strains.
“It is one in every of many Russian vessels designed to threaten our Critical Underwater Infrastructure,” Healey mentioned.
The Royal Navy has elevated surveillance of the North Atlantic and surrounding seas as a part of Operation Seabed Watch, a standing effort to observe and deter hostile exercise towards submarine infrastructure. UK officers have beforehand cited the vulnerability of subsea information cables as a rising nationwide safety concern, particularly within the context of hybrid warfare.
The Defence Secretary delivered a direct warning to Moscow: “To Russia: We see you. We know what you might be doing. And if Yantar travels South this week, our Forces are able to act.”
The ship, operated by the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research (GUGI), a shadowy department of the Russian Navy, is believed to hold deep-diving submersibles able to tampering with undersea cables, in addition to gear for digital surveillance.
