"We know what you’re doing": Russian spy ship Yantar loitering near UK waters firing lasers at aircraft
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An eerie Russian spy ship has been spotted loitering near UK waters and firing lasers at aircraft.
Defence secretary John Healey confirmed that Moscow’s Yantar craft was operating on the edge of British territory in the north of Scotland. He added that it directed lasers at pilots of surveillance aircraft monitoring its activities.
She was seen earlier this year trespassing near undersea cables, and had to be shadowed by Royal Navy warships HMS Somerset and HMS Tyne. The defence secretary told a Westminster press conference on November 19: “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.”
Mr Healey said Yantar can “can undertake surveillance in peacetime and sabotage in conflict”, with this incursion being the second time she has entered British waters. The vessel is designed to put undersea cables at risk, the Labour MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough added.
A Royal Navy frigate was deployed alongside RAF P-8 planes to track the vessel’s activities. It proceeded to direct lasers at the pilots. “That Russian action is deeply dangerous,” the defence secretary said.
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He added: “It isn’t just a naval operation. It’s part of a Russian programme driven by what they call the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research, or GUGI, and this is designed to have capabilities which can undertake surveillance in peacetime and sabotage in conflict. That is why we’ve been determined, whenever the Yantar comes into British wider waters, we track it, we deter it and we say to Putin we are ready, and we do that alongside allies.
“You saw this last year in the way that Britain led the response to attacks on critical infrastructure with other Baltic and Nordic nations, and then Nato stepped in as well with their operation. So, it’s a demonstration, if you like, of a British readiness to act, a British capability to act, because, make no mistake, we will not tolerate a threat to the British people’s essential connections under water.”
An X account called Russian Forces Spotter reported that the Russian tanker Velnya was transited through the English Channel alongside the Corvette Stoikiy on November 7. The Royal Navy confirmed this took place, with sailors monitoring both vessels.