John Healey said warships and military aircraft forced Russia to quit activity in UK waters near vital undersea cables and pipelines
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenAgence France-PressePublished: 12:55am, 10 Apr 2026Britain said on Thursday it had tracked and deterred three Russian submarines on an alleged month-long “covert operation” in UK waters in the North Atlantic near vital undersea cables and pipelines.
Disclosing details of the joint mission with Norway and other unspecified allies, British Defence Secretary John Healey said there was no evidence the Russian vessels had damaged the subsea infrastructure.
“We see your activity over our cables and our pipelines and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences,” he told a Downing Street news conference.
“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.”
