UK warns Putin after Russian spy ship seen near British waters

The Royal Navy has been monitoring a Russian spy ship after it was spotted around UK waters earlier this week, the defence secretary has told MPs.

John Healey said the vessel, Yantar, was used for gathering intelligence and mapping the UK’s critical underwater infrastructure.

He said the incident was “another example of growing Russian aggression”.

Healey added: “I also wanted President [Vladimir] Putin to hear this message: we see you, we know what you’re doing and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country.”

Russia describes Yantar as an oceanic research vessel and it is operated by the country’s Ministry of Defence.

Western nations have often tracked the ship operating in European waters and they suspect part of its mission has been to map undersea cables.

They also believe Russia has been stepping up this activity since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

As well as surveillance equipment the ship can operate submersible drones capable of reaching the ocean floor.

Undersea infrastructure is crucial for energy supply through power cables and pipelines, while more than 95% of internet traffic is also secured via undersea cables.

Healey said Yantar was currently in the North Sea, after passing near UK waters and being detected 45 miles off the British coast in the English Channel on Monday.

“For the last two days the Royal Navy has deployed HMS Somerset and HMS Tyne to monitor the vessel every minute through our waters,” he said.

“I changed the Royal Navy’s rules of engagement so that our warships can get closer and better track the Yantar. So far, the ship has complied with international rules of navigation.”

The defence secretary said it was the second time the vessel had entered British waters in recent months, with Yantar also detected “loitering over UK critical undersea infrastructure” in November.

He said a Royal Navy submarine had been authorised to surface close to Yantar – a highly unusual move.

Healey described this “strictly as a deterrent measure” and “to make clear that we have been covertly monitoring its every move”.

Defence sources told the BBC the ship was also given a verbal warning.

“The ship then left UK waters without further loitering and sailed down to the Mediterranean,” Healey added.

Healey said the government was strengthening its response to Russian naval activity with its Nato allies.

He said the Royal Air Force would provide surveillance aircraft to join a Nato deployment to protect critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

It comes after an undersea cable between Estonia and Finland was damaged in December, with Finnish police investigating whether a Russian ship was involved.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said the Conservative Party stood “shoulder to shoulder” with the government’s approach and its “transparency” over the Russian naval threat.

He also welcomed the change to the Royal Navy’s rules of engagement, adding: “This sends a powerful signal to Putin that we will not be intimidated and that if his aim is to keep pushing the boundaries of malign activity in our waters, and those proximate to us, we will respond.”

Cartlidge said the issue showed why defence spending needed to be increased as soon as possible.

But Grant Shapps, the former Conservative defence secretary called on the government to impound ships it suspects of spying around UK waters.

Shapps told BBC Radio 4’s World Tonight programme the UK should take a “more upfront approach”.

“If a ship is suspected of [spying] you’re perfectly at liberty to go and investigate that and sometimes that means you may have to detain a ship for a period of time in order to get to the truth,” he said.

“We all know what they’re up to and you do therefore have to have a more proactive, forward-leaning stance towards it.”

His fellow former defence secretary Sir Gavin Williamson, also a Conservative, said the threat from Russian naval activity had “grown exponentially”.

“If the Royal Navy and the RAF are to have any chance to keep that critical national infrastructure safe they are going to need a flood of resources,” he told the BBC.

“We need to be massively scaling up and doing it very quickly.”