Earlier this year, Britain observed three Russian submarines in British waters and received assistance from Norway to track the submarines' movements. The submarines were in British waters for a month, and the military was deployed to prevent the submarines from attacking British cables and pipelines. The submarines sailed in the Atlantic Ocean north of Britain.
This was stated by Britain's Defense Minister, John Healey, at a press conference on Thursday, according to the Reuters news agency and the British media outlet BBC. The Defense Minister is releasing the information so that Russian President Vladimir Putin knows that the submarines were discovered, he says.
- To President Putin I say: "We see you. We see your activities on our cables and pipelines, and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences."
Both the British and Norwegian military detected the submarines and thwarted malicious activity, says the British Defense Minister.
Norway confirms military operation
Norwegian Defense Minister Tore O. Sandvik confirms to the Norwegian news agency NTB that Norway has participated in an operation targeting Russian activities in the Atlantic Ocean.
- In recent weeks, Norway has participated in a coordinated military operation with our allies. We have used maritime patrol aircraft and a frigate, which has participated in the activities.
- We have done this to clearly indicate to Russia that they cannot operate covertly in our waters. It is both deterrence and defense. Norway is not threatening anyone. Russia knows our peaceful intentions, and no one has an interest in increased tensions in the northern areas, says Tore O. Sandvik.
The submarines have left British waters. They were a Russian attack submarine and two spy submarines. The spy submarines were from Russia's Main Directorate for Deep-Sea Exploration (Gugi), which is a department of the Russian Navy.
According to John Healey, the attack submarine probably acted as a decoy to divert attention from the two spy submarines, as they were over "critical infrastructure relevant to us and our allies". There is no sign of damage to British submarine cables and pipelines.
/ritzau/
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