AP —
British and Norwegian militaries have led a weeks-long operation to interdict a Russian submarine suspected of “malicious activity” in the North Atlantic, the British military announced Thursday.
Defense Secretary John Healy said frigates, aircraft and hundreds of personnel were monitoring a Russian attack submarine and two reconnaissance submarines near underwater infrastructure in northern England. He said the Russian ship finally left port after an operation that lasted more than a month.
Healey said the message to Russia is: “We are witnessing your activities through our nation’s cables and pipelines, and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences.”
Representatives from Norway’s defense ministry, foreign ministry and military did not respond to requests for comment.
British officials have sought to keep Russia in the international spotlight, even as the world’s attention has focused on conflicts in the Middle East. They also said Russia was supplying Iran with drone parts and other support, highlighting the overlap in conflicts there and in Ukraine.
“Putin will want us to be distracted by the Middle East,” Healey told a news conference, but Russia remains the main threat to Britain and its allies.
“We will not take our eyes off President Putin,” he said.
Britain announced in late March that it was prepared to seize vessels believed to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” transporting oil in violation of international sanctions over Russia’s war with Ukraine. Until now, Britain had only helped France and the United States monitor ships before they boarded them.
Mr Healy said he was “ready to take action” against the vessel.
