A Russian spy ship is presently on the sting of UK waters, the defence secretary has introduced.
John Healey mentioned it was the second time that the ship, the Yantar, had been deployed to UK waters.
Politics newest:’Price range leaks will not be acceptable,’ says Rachel Reeves
“It is a vessel designed for gathering intelligence and mapping our undersea cables.
“We deployed a Royal Navy frigate and RAF planes to observe and monitor this vessel’s each transfer, throughout which the Yantar directed lasers at our pilots.
“That Russian action is deeply dangerous, and this is the second time this year that this ship, the Yantar, has deployed to UK waters.”
Mr Healey added: “So 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.”
His warning comes following a report from MPs that the UK lacks a plan to defend itself from a army assault, regardless of the federal government promising to spice up readiness with new arms factories.
At the least 13 websites throughout the UK have been recognized for brand spanking new factories to make munitions and army explosives, with Mr Healey anticipating the arms trade to interrupt floor on the first plant subsequent yr.
The report by the Commons Defence Committee mentioned the UK “lacks a plan for defending the homeland and overseas territories” because it urged the federal government to launch a “co-ordinated effort to communicate with the public on the level of threat we face”.
Mr Healey acknowledged the risks going through the UK, saying the nation was in a “new era of threat” that “demands a new era for defence”.
He mentioned the Yantar was working on the sting of UK waters north of Scotland, and had directed lasers at pilots of surveillance plane monitoring its actions.
Giving extra particulars on the vessel, he mentioned it was “part of a Russian fleet designed to put and hold our undersea infrastructure and those of our allies at risk”.
He mentioned the Yantar wasn’t simply a part of a naval operation however a part of a Russian programme pushed by Moscow’s Principal Directorate of Deep-Sea Analysis, or GUGI, which 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,” he added.
“We take it extremely seriously. I’ve changed the Navy’s rules of engagement so that we can follow more closely, monitor more closely, the activities of the Yantar when it’s in our wider waters. We have military options ready.”
Mr Healey added that the final time the Yantar was in UK waters, the British army surfaced a nuclear-powered assault submarine near the ship “that they did not know was there”.
The Russian embassy has been contacted for remark.
