{"id":221698,"date":"2025-01-22T21:48:06","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T21:48:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/22\/britain-says-russian-spy-ship-returned-to-u-k-waters-in-sign-of-kremlin-threat\/"},"modified":"2025-01-22T21:48:07","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T21:48:07","slug":"britain-says-russian-spy-ship-returned-to-u-k-waters-in-sign-of-kremlin-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/22\/britain-says-russian-spy-ship-returned-to-u-k-waters-in-sign-of-kremlin-threat\/","title":{"rendered":"Britain Says Russian Spy Ship Returned to U.K. Waters in Sign of Kremlin Threat"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/01\/22\/multimedia\/22uk-ship-hqfl\/22uk-ship-hqfl-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Britain Says Russian Spy Ship Returned to U.K. Waters in Sign of Kremlin Threat\" title=\"Britain Says Russian Spy Ship Returned to U.K. Waters in Sign of Kremlin Threat\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Britain on Wednesday warned that it faced a growing threat of aggression from Russia, asserting that a Russian spy ship had passed by the English coast for the second time in three months, in the latest incident that seemed designed to test British military capabilities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">John Healey, the British defense secretary, told Parliament that two Royal Navy ships were deployed for two days to monitor the passage of the Yantar, which he described as a Russian spy ship used for gathering intelligence and mapping Britain\u2019s critical underwater infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The incident is the latest in a series of incursions by Russian ships and aircraft around Britain and comes amid rising concern in Europe about threats to critical infrastructure and possible sabotage, with Western intelligence services warning of the Kremlin\u2019s intent to punish Europe for supporting Ukraine. Last year, when the Yantar was first detected in Britain\u2019s waters, a British submarine nearby was monitoring it, the defense secretary disclosed on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While the authorities have linked Russia\u2019s intelligence services to vandalism, arson and assaults across Europe in recent years, threats at sea have generated the most anxiety and prompted the boldest responses. Last week, NATO announced it was deploying warships, patrol aircraft and drones to protect critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea after several undersea cables were cut, apparently by ships dragging their anchors along the sea floor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Suspicion has fallen on vessels linked to Russia and China, with European Union vessels <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/12\/world\/europe\/baltic-fiber-optic-cables-ship.html\" title=\"\">surrounding a Chinese-flagged ship<\/a> for weeks and Finland <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/26\/world\/europe\/finland-estonia-cables-russia.html\" title=\"\">seizing an oil tanker<\/a> that experts and officials said might be part of Russian efforts to avoid Western sanctions. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Russian naval vessels have for years carried out missions near Britain and elsewhere. But Mr. Healey on Wednesday gave an unusual amount of detail about the normally shadowy world of military surveillance, underscoring the growing concern about Russian activity, in particular around vital underwater cables connecting Britain to continental Europe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cRussia remains the most pressing and immediate threat to Britain,\u201d Mr. Healey said on Wednesday, adding that he wanted to send a message to the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin. \u201c\u2018We see you. We know what you are doing. And we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Healey also told lawmakers that he had changed naval rules of engagement to allow the two British ships to get closer and monitor the movements of the Yantar, which has since left for Dutch waters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Last November, the Yantar was observed loitering over critical British undersea infrastructure, Mr. Healey said, adding that on that occasion he had authorized a Royal Navy submarine to surface close to the Yantar to demonstrate that it had been monitored.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At the time, the British said, the Yantar was accompanied by a frigate, Admiral Golovko, and a supporting tanker, Vyazma, before the ships departed for the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Yantar, which has been in service for about a decade, is a highly sophisticated spy ship, developed by Russia\u2019s Main Directorate for Deep-Sea Research specifically to hunt for critical underwater cables, said Justin Crump, the chief executive of a private intelligence firm, Sibylline, who has monitored the ship for years. The ship is equipped with two autonomous submersibles that can operate extensively and largely undetected, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Though the Yantar could be capable of engaging in sabotage, Mr. Crump said, it was more likely that the ship would be used to find and possibly tap cables for intelligence gathering, and perhaps map their locations for future operations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThey went to a lot of time, effort and money to develop these ships, which have lots of impressive capabilities in this area,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd actually, for smashing up pipelines or cables, they\u2019ve realized they could just drag an anchor on the seabed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Though intelligence services and experts say cutting underwater cables fits within what is understood to be the Kremlin\u2019s covert playbook, it has proved difficult to actually uncover evidence linking Russia to recent episodes. The Kremlin has denied involvement in sabotage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Wednesday, the Finnish authorities announced that a preliminary investigation into the severing of several critical underwater cables last month was nearing conclusion, but said it would be premature to say if any one country was behind it. Investigators did conclude that the seized oil tanker, the Eagle S, which had departed a Russian port shortly before the cables were cut, had dragged its anchor for up to 100 kilometers across the sea floor, an action that experts said could hardly have been accidental.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Shipping experts have identified the Eagle S as belonging to Russia\u2019s so-called shadow fleet, a group of aged tankers that Moscow uses to covertly transport crude oil around the world to fuel its war machine in Ukraine. The tanker and nine members of its crew remain in Finnish custody.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Russia has long shown an interest in the West\u2019s network of undersea cables, experts said. Over the last several years, Russian naval and merchant vessels have spent time off the coast of Ireland, where bundles of undersea cables link Europe and North America.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWhat we don\u2019t know is why they are doing it,\u201d said Elisabeth Braw, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council who researches Russian maritime activity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cAre they just signaling that we can sit on top of the undersea cables as much as we like and you can\u2019t do anything about it?\u201d she asked. \u201cAre they conducting reconnaissance for future actions they might like to take and or are they conducting some sort of adversarial activities<em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">?<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There is little that countries can do about it, Ms. Braw said, because international maritime law does not prevent Russian vessels from operating in these areas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Alistair Carmichael, a British lawmaker who represents the islands of Orkney and Shetland, said \u201cthe activities of the Yantar may be an escalation.\u201d But he added that he had warned for almost two years of Russian vessels operating around the Shetland Islands, north of mainland Scotland.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis is a strategic threat to the United Kingdom as a whole but it is particularly acute for our island communities that rely on cables for digital and energy connectivity,\u201d he said in Parliament.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Britain has been one of the most vocal supporters of Ukraine since Russia invaded it in 2022, and tensions between London and Moscow increased last year when Ukraine fired <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/11\/20\/us\/politics\/ukraine-russia-uk-storm-shadow-missiles.html\" title=\"\">British Storm Shadow missiles<\/a> into Russia\u2019s Kursk region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Amid rising tensions last October, Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, Britain\u2019s domestic security service, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/10\/08\/world\/europe\/russian-spies-mi5-uk.html\" title=\"\">said that Russian intelligence agents<\/a> were on a mission \u201cto generate mayhem on British and European streets.\u201d He accused Russia\u2019s military intelligence agency of \u201cdangerous actions conducted with increasing recklessness,\u201d including cases of \u201carson, sabotage and more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In April, British prosecutors charged five men with working on behalf of Russia to carry out an arson attack on a Ukrainian-linked business in Britain. And last fall, officials said that fires at shipping facilities in Britain and Germany had been caused by incendiary devices likely planted by Russian operatives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Britain has recently reported more overt Russian military actions. Last September, it said that British Typhoon jets scrambled to intercept two Russian Bear-F aircraft operating near Britain\u2019s airspace. It also said that the British Navy had shadowed four Russian vessels, including a Kilo-class submarine through the English Channel and the North Sea.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Johanna Lemola<!-- --> contributed reporting from Helsinki.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/22\/world\/europe\/britain-russia-spy-ship.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Britain on Wednesday warned that it faced a growing threat of aggression from Russia, asserting that a Russian spy ship had passed by the English coast for the second time in three months, in the latest incident that seemed designed to test British military capabilities. John Healey, the British defense secretary, told Parliament that two [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/01\/22\/multimedia\/22uk-ship-hqfl\/22uk-ship-hqfl-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[139476,2942,163487,896,84420,46196,3096,174383,14714,163751,137131,7911,202,1461,4190,165328,15304,2536,2888,503,1130,26128],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221698"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221698"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":221700,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221698\/revisions\/221700"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}