In a dramatic announcement on Thursday, April 9, 2026, the UK government revealed it has successfully thwarted a month-long “secret operation” by Russian submarines in British waters.
Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed that the Royal Navy and RAF, working with Norway, tracked three vessels – an Akula-class attack submarine and two specialized spy submarines from Russia’s secretive GUGI unit targeting critical undersea cables and pipelines.
Healey stated that the attack submarine likely acted as a decoy to distract from the spy vessels. He confirmed the UK responded with 24/7 surveillance, noting:
“Our armed forces left them in no doubt that they were being monitored, that their movements were not covert, as President Putin planned and that their attempted secret operation had been exposed.”
The mission involved over 500 British personnel and 450 flight hours to ensure the safety of the UK’s energy and data infrastructure.
While no damage was found, the government issued a stern warning to the Kremlin.
Addressing Vladimir Putin directly, Healey said: “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.”
The Russian vessels have since retreated north.
