British defense secretary John Healey said a Russian spy ship had entered the NATO ally’s northern waters and directed lasers at military planes sent to monitor it. He warned the Kremlin that “we are ready” if the vessel tries to travel further south.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian embassy in the U.K. for comment.
It comes as NATO says Russia is repeatedly testing the reaction and resolve of the Western alliance in a string of serious provocations as Moscow rapidly rearms in preparation for a potential major war in Europe. The Kremlin denies seeking war with NATO, which is aiding Ukraine’s defense against an ongoing Russian invasion, and says the reverse is true.
“As I speak, a Russian spy ship, the Yantar, is on the edge of U.K. waters north of Scotland, having entered the U.K.’s wider waters over the last few weeks,” Healey said in a speech at Downing Street in London on Wednesday morning.
“This is a vessel designed for gathering intelligence and mapping our undersea cables. We deployed a Royal Navy frigate and RAF P-8 planes to monitor and track this vessel’s every move, during which the Yantar directed lasers at our pilots.
“That Russian action is deeply dangerous and this is the second time this year that this ship, the Yantar, has deployed to UK waters. So my message to Russia and to Putin is this: We see you, we know what you’re doing, and if the Yantar travels south this week, we are ready.”
The P-8 is a Poseidon MRA1, a maritime patrol aircraft manufactured by Boeing.
Poland Sabotage, Romania Drone Breach
Elsewhere, NATO’s Poland accused Russian secret services of sabotaging a key rail line with an explosive device on Sunday. Russia dismissed the accusation, but Poland said all evidence points to Russian involvement. Poland said at least two Ukrainian nationals working for Russia and who carried out the attack have since fled into Belarus.
The Warsaw-Lublin line is a critical link for Western aid to war-torn Ukraine.
Andrei Ordash, Chargé d’Affaires of Russia in Poland, told Newsweek in a statement, originally in Russian, that the embassy in Warsaw “generally does not comment on the various absurd statements made by the Polish authorities, whose aim is to stoke Russophobia and war hysteria within Polish society.”
But Ordash added that “we would like to note that Russia currently faces far more important tasks (including developing ties with international partners who wish to do so) than carrying out any completely unnecessary unfriendly actions toward Poland, which for 12 years has systematically and deliberately been destroying its relations with our country.”
NATO ally Romania also said a Russian drone had violated its airspace during a massive attack on western Ukraine overnight into Wednesday, with four fighter jets scrambled in response.
