LONDON (AP) 鈥� conducted a weekslong military operation to deter Russian spy submarines near undersea cables in the North Atlantic, the U.K. defense chief said Thursday, accusing Moscow of using the distraction of the Iran war to against Europe.
Defense Secretary John Healey said a Royal Navy frigate, aircraft and hundreds of personnel were involved in tracking a Russian attack sub and two spy submarines operating north of the U.K., and prevented the spy vessels from carrying out 鈥渘efarious鈥� activities against underwater infrastructure.
He said the Russian vessels eventually left after the operation that lasted more than a month. There is no evidence of damage to any cables or pipes, he said.
The U.K. said other allies were also involved in the operation, but didn’t name them.
NATO countries have repeatedly expressed concern that Russia could use its to on which global communications depend. Russia has dismissed those claims.
Healey said his message to Russian President Vladimir Putin was was 鈥渨e see your activity over our cables and our pipelines and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences.鈥�
Norwegian Defense Minister Tore Sandvik said in a statement that Russia鈥檚 operation occurred in and near Norwegian and British maritime areas in recent weeks.
Norway and the U.K. said the activity was coordinated by , known as GUGI, which is part of Russian armed forces. The activity is a reminder that Russia is further developing its abilities to map and sabotage critical Western infrastructure at ocean depths, Norway’s Defense Ministry said.
Healey said the subs are 鈥渄esigned to survey underwater infrastructure during peacetime and sabotage it in conflict.鈥�
In November, Britain told Russia it was ready to deal with any incursion into its territory after Yantar was detected on the edge of U.K. waters north of Scotland.
Healey said the submarine activity occurred in the U.K.鈥檚 exclusive economic zone, which extends for 200 nautical miles (230 miles, 370 kilometers) from shore, but not its narrower territorial waters.
British officials have tried to keep Russia in the international spotlight even as the world鈥檚 attention is focused on conflict in the Middle East. They have also stressed the overlap between conflicts there and in Ukraine, saying Russia has and other support.
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has shed light on the reduced state of Britain鈥檚 military, which has been shrinking for decades. U.S. President Donald Trump has , which has sent one destroyer to the eastern Mediterranean to help defend Cyprus.
Healey told a news conference that 鈥淧utin would want us to be distracted by the Middle East,鈥� but Russia is the main threat to the U.K. and its allies.
鈥淲e will not take our eyes off Putin,鈥� he said.
In late March, the U.K. said its military was ready to seize ships suspected to be part of Russia鈥檚 鈥渟hadow fleet鈥� of vessels shipping oil in violation of international sanctions over Moscow鈥檚 war on Ukraine. Previously, Britain had only helped France and the U.S. monitor ships before they were boarded.
Katja Bego, a senior research fellow at international affairs think tank Chatham House, said 鈥渃alling out” Russian operations as Healey had done could be an effective deterrent.
鈥淏ut there are urgent conversations to be had as well about what European countries can do to inflict a far higher cost on Russia in response to these increasingly brazen incursions,” she said.
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Associated Press writer Stefanie Dazio in Berlin contributed to this report.
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