Britain today issued a stern warning to Russia after British forces foiled a Russian submarine operation to survey vital maritime infrastructure near Britain. Ambassador Neil Holland, speaking in Vienna on Thursday, warned Putin that he “cannot operate in secret”.
Hollande, who heads the UK delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in the Austrian capital, spoke on behalf of the UK, Norway and the Netherlands after it was confirmed that the UK and allies tracked a Russian attack submarine and two spy submarines in the North Atlantic for a month before retreating.
Hollande addressed an April 9 update given by Defense Secretary John Healey regarding Russia’s activity in the Atlantic amid leaders’ increased focus on the Middle East crisis. The month-long covert operation involved a Russian Akula-class attack submarine and two spy submarines, which were later withdrawn. Two of these ships were from the Main Directorate of Deep Sea Research (known as GUGI).
GUGI is Russia’s long-running military program to develop capabilities deployable from specialist surface ships and submarines, intended to survey underwater infrastructure during peacetime, but then to damage or destroy the infrastructure during conflict.
Hollande said the ships were directed by Russia “to conduct hybrid warfare activities against Britain and its allies, particularly around critical undersea infrastructure”, the invisible network of seafloor cables that ensure the internet, data sharing and financial transactions work.
He said the ships are designed to “survey underwater infrastructure during peacetime and be ready to destroy it in conflict.” Responding to the incident, he said the UK has deployed armed forces “to track and prevent any malign activity by these vessels”.
Hollande concluded his statement with a clear response to Russia.
He said: “Our message to Russia is this: you cannot operate covertly. We are prepared to deal with the growing threat in the North Atlantic. The UK and our allies are prepared to respond to any threat to our critical undersea infrastructure. And any attempt to damage our critical undersea infrastructure will have serious consequences.”
Earlier, Hayley said: “As we act to defend our interests and allies in the Middle East, we are tackling the growing threats to NATO in the High North, maintaining strong support for Ukraine and protecting our UK homeland.
“To Putin, I say this: We see you, we see your activity on our underwater infrastructure. You should know that any attempt to damage it will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences.”
