The Royal Navy has been actively monitoring the Russian spy ship Yantar as it navigated the English Channel this week, just weeks after it was caught loitering near critical undersea infrastructure in UK waters. HMS Somerset was deployed to shadow the vessel as part of the UK’s ongoing efforts to counter the threat posed by Russian maritime activity.
Previous Encounter and Increased Surveillance
In November, a Royal Navy submarine surfaced close to Yantar to warn it had been covertly monitoring the ship’s movements. Following this encounter, Yantar left UK waters for the Mediterranean but has now returned, prompting a swift response from the Royal Navy.
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The renewed activity comes amidst heightened concerns over the security of undersea infrastructure across Europe, especially after recent damage to the Estlink2 undersea cable between Estonia and Finland.
UK Leads NATO Response
The UK is playing a pivotal role in strengthening NATO’s capabilities to protect critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea and beyond. As part of this initiative, the Royal Air Force is contributing P-8 Poseidon and Rivet Joint maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft to NATO’s Baltic Sentry activity, aimed at monitoring and countering potential threats to offshore infrastructure.
