The UK military has been deployed to counter the threat of undersea cables amid the Russian presence

Britain has sent warships to prevent any attacks on the cables and pipelines of a Russian submarine that spent more than a month in and around British waters earlier this year, Defense Minister John Healey said on Thursday.

Britain accused Russia of using the disruption of events in the Middle East to try to conduct covert operations in the Northern High Seas, which is home to major shipping lanes and critical infrastructure such as submarine cables.

Healey said the British military and its allies, including Norway, tracked and intercepted the offensive by Russian vessels, adding that the submarines had now left the area and there were no signs of damage to underwater infrastructure.

Unveiling the project publicly at a press conference, Healey said the aim was to show Russian President Vladimir Putin that the project had been found.

“To President Putin, I say ‘We see you. We see your work on our cables ⁠and our pipelines, and you should know that any attempt to harm them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences,'” he said.

“Our soldiers left no doubt that they were being watched closely, that their movements were not as stealthy as President Putin had planned, and that their attempts to operate in secret were exposed.”

The Russian ambassador in London said Healey’s statement was “impossible to believe or verify.”

“Russia is not threatening the undersea infrastructure, which is very important to the UK. And we are not using aggressive language in this regard,” the embassy said in a statement.

In the past, Moscow has denied allegations of involvement in a series of incidents in which the cables of European countries were damaged.

A warship, surveillance planes have been sent

Healey said the Russian operation involved a Russian Akula-class attack submarine and two special purpose submarines from Moscow’s Main Directorate for Deep-Sea Research (GUGI).

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“They are designed to inspect underwater infrastructure in peacetime, and destroy it in conflict,” Healey said.

After detecting Russian ships passing through international waters, Britain sent a frigate, a support tanker and a seaplane to monitor their movements.

Norway’s Ministry of Defense said its military has also deployed a P-8 seaplane and a frigate.

Healey said the submarines had not entered British territory, but had been in a wide area of ​​sea across the country, known as the “Exclusive Economic Zone,” and the waters of Britain’s allies.

Britain’s naval capabilities have come under scrutiny in recent weeks after US President Donald Trump criticized Britain’s response to the war in Iran, describing Britain’s aircraft carriers as “toys.”

Healey addressed that criticism in his statement, saying it was not in Britain’s national interest to move all of its military assets to the region.

“The biggest threats are often invisible and silent. And as security demands increase, we must use our resources to be more effective,” he said.

NATO allies have increased their presence in the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea, after a series of power, telecom and gas outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Most were caused by civilian ships dragging anchor.