UK Defence Secretary Healy said on Thursday that the UK, together with Norway and other allies, carried out a joint military operation to stop Russian submarine activities in the North Atlantic.
Healy stated that while international attention has been largely focused on conflicts in the Middle East, Russia has taken the opportunity to escalate threats against waters and underwater infrastructure surrounding the UK. However, he warned Russian President Putin that any attempt to damage cables and pipelines around the UK would not be tolerated and would lead to severe consequences.
Speaking to reporters at 10 Downing Street, Healy said the UK and its allies had monitored and "restrained" Russian submarines suspected of engaging in suspicious activity in the relevant waters; the operation lasted for more than a month. He said the UK deployed frigates, military aircraft, and hundreds of personnel after detecting a Russian attack submarine and two reconnaissance submarines operating near the UK's undersea infrastructure to the north.
Healy pointed out that to safeguard the security of key infrastructure such as undersea cables and pipelines, the UK had undertaken military operations. The Russian submarines involved have now left the area.
Norwegian Defence Minister Sandvik said on the same day that in the past few weeks, Norway and allies including the UK had jointly participated in operations, deploying P-8 maritime patrol aircraft and a frigate to carry out related tasks.