Friday, April 10, 2026 - John Healey has revealed that the UK carried out a large-scale military operation to monitor three Russian submarines operating near British waters.
The operation involved the Royal Navy, RAF P-8 surveillance
aircraft, and around 500 personnel. A warship was deployed over thousands of
nautical miles to track the vessels, which were believed to be surveying
undersea infrastructure such as cables and pipelines.
Healey said the submarines, an Akula-class nuclear-powered
attack submarine and two specialist vessels linked to Russia’s deep-sea
research programme, have since left UK waters. He suggested the attack
submarine may have acted as a decoy while the other two focused on seabed
operations.
“We see your activity over our cables and our pipelines, and
you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and have
serious consequences,” Healey said, addressing Vladimir Putin directly.
The UK government believes the submarines were potentially
gathering intelligence on critical infrastructure, which includes undersea
systems responsible for energy supply and global communications.
Healey stressed the importance of these assets, noting that
around half of the UK’s gas supply and the vast majority of international data
traffic depend on such networks.
The disclosure comes amid broader concerns about Russian
maritime activity, including reports of naval vessels escorting sanctioned
ships through the English Channel. The UK has recently strengthened its
posture, with Keir Starmer authorising the Royal Navy to intercept and seize
sanction-breaking vessels if necessary.
Officials say there is currently no evidence that any
infrastructure was damaged, but monitoring efforts remain ongoing as tensions
continue.
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