A RUSSIAN spy ship fled UK waters after a Royal Navy nuclear submarine surfaced yards away in a show of force.
Defence Secretary John Healy revealed details of the high seas showdown as he warned Vladimir Putin: “We see you. We know what you are doing.”
The enemy ship, known as Yantar, started to loiter in British waters for the second time in months.
It was reportedly hovering over critical undersea cables in the Irish Sea and the Atlantic.
Fears are growing across Europe over potential Russian led sabotage after a number of deep sea cables have been cut in recent months.
The UK is playing a leading role in countering any growing oversea threat to offshore infrastructure alongside its Nato allies.
Defence Secretary John Healey announced the reemergence of the Yantar today in parliament.
He described it as a “Russian spy ship used for gathering intelligence”.
An Astute class hunter killer sub, armed with devastating Spearfish torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles, had been tracking the Yantar’s “every move” – completely unknown to the Russian crew.
It is understood HMS Astute was the submarine that surfaced.
HMS Anson was also at sea and tailed the Russian spy ship.
The Sun understands the sub’s captain hailed the Russian vessel to reveal it “had been caught up to no good”.
A source insisted the call was “civil” but it spooked the Russian crew who scarpered.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Putin’s shadowy ‘ghost ship’ dragged anchor along seabed for 60MILES to shred cables in brazen sabotage, Finland says” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6366555230112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]The MoD rarely discussed submarine ops.
But Healey told MPs: “To deter any potential threat, I took measured steps. I authorised a Royal Navy submarine, strictly as a deterrent measure, to surface close to the Yantar to make clear that we had been covertly monitoring its every move.”
The MoD said: “In response to the warning from the Royal Navy in November, Yantar left UK waters for the Mediterranean.”
The Navy deployed divers and mine clearing robots to scour the sea beds for signs of any Russian devices that might have been left behind.
[quote credit=”John Healey” credit-meta=”Defence Secretary”]We see you, we know what you’re doing and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country[/quote]The MoD said the Yantar had returned to the Channel this week and was flanked by frigate HMS Somerset.
Healey said the Navy took immediate steps to monitor its movements once it was detected.
It entered the UK exclusive economic zone around 45 miles off the British coast on Monday, he added.
RAF maritime patrol aircraft was deployed along with the subs and warships to keep a close eye on the vessel as it quickly moved away and headed towards the Mediterranean.
Defence chiefs fear the Russian vessel may be mapping undersea cables to sever them in the event of war.
Cables off the coast of Cornwall are also include top secret links between to America that are used share encrypted intelligence.
Mr Healey also sent a direct message to Putin telling him and the Kremlin to be careful over what they plan to do next.
He said: “We see you, we know what you’re doing and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country.
“We will continue to call out the malign activity that Putin directs, cracking down on the Russian shadow fleet to prevent funding for his illegal invasion of Ukraine.”
The Russian embassy declined to comment.
Inside Russia’s secret spy ship
The Yantar’s official designation is an oceanic research vessel working for the Kremlin’s deep sea sciences division.
But many Western officials believe this is a flimsy cover for her real role as a spy ship.
The 328ft vessel includes an internal “moon pool” for launching mini submarines and underwater drones that can spy on or cut cables.
These are specially designed to interfere with key communication points which sit as deep as 20,000ft.
It has previously been warned that vital undersea cables could be used to cripple Britain by its enemies.
Suspicions have been raised over potential deep sea disruption from Putin‘s Russia and Xi Jinping‘s China after a string of key underwater cables have been sliced in recent months.
In January Russia was accused of sabotage in the Baltic Sea after a Kremlin ship allegedly cut a key Finish power cable with its anchor after dragging it on the seabed for dozens of miles.
The Estlink 2 power cable in the Gulf of Finland was ruptured along with four other communication lines in the suspected deliberate act of vandalism.
Officials believe the ship was a 751ft Eagle S part of Russia’s “shadow” or “dark” fleet operated by Putin to evade sanctions.
A Chinese vessel was also seen in the area at the time of the incident.
Since Vlad’s invasion of Ukraine almost three years ago, Russia have been using hybrid warfare tactics to get to their enemies.
This has typically targeted nations who have strongly backed Ukraine such as Germany by targeting critical infrastructure, such as undersea cables.
The recent issues have prompted Nato to bolster up their surveillance systems across Europe.
A giant 36ft stealth submarine drone dubbed the “Blue Whale” has been deployed in the Baltic Sea by Germany.
The huge drone is set to patrol across European waters on behalf of Nato after being released by the Germany navy.
The autonomous Blue Whale’s goal is to carry out deep sea surveillance in the Baltic Sea.
Its capabilities also include the ability to detect and pursue suspicious vessels as well as mines linked to foreign interference.
German navy commander Jan Christian Kaack says it will confront “high-performance weapons from potential foes, including some which are extremely difficult to defend against”.
