UK says three Russian submarines tracked during ‘covert’ operation

Defence Minister John Healey said the covert month-long operation did not find evidence that Russian vessels had damaged undersea infrastructure.British Defence Minister John Healey has said that it has tracked and deterred three Russian submarines in United Kingdom waters in the High North maritime region, which is home to key shipping routes and near crucial undersea cables.Healey told a Downing Street news conference on Thursday that the covert month-long operation involving British warships and military aircraft did not find evidence that Russian vessels had damaged the undersea infrastructure.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3‘Nothing prepares you’: The invisible lives of carers in the UKlist 2 of 3UK police arrest seven protesters near RAF base used by USlist 3 of 3Four die, dozens rescued in attempted Channel crossing from France to UKend of listHealey explained that the decision to reveal the operation was serving to “call out” Russian activity and send a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin.“I am making this statement to call out this Russian activity. And to President Putin, I say this: we see you, we see your activity over our cables and pipelines. And you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated, and will have serious consequences,” he said.Healey explained that armed forces had been deployed “to track and to deter any malign activity by these vessels”, adding that Putin’s purpose was “secret operations that remain undetected over our critical infrastructure”.This undated handout image release on April 9, 2026, by the UK’s Royal Navy shows the HMS Mersey, foreground, tracking Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich, far left, and Kilo-class submarine Krasnodar, second left – in distance, in UK waters at sea [AFP]“We’ve exposed those covert operations. We’ve made clear to him and his submarines that we’ve watched them every step of the way.”