A Russian “spy ship” is lurking near British waters where it directed lasers at UK military pilots who were surveilling its activities, the defence secretary has said.
Royal Navy frigates and RAF P-8 planes had been deployed to monitor the Yantar vessel, which is designed for gathering intelligence, when the Russians directed the lasers at the planes.
Defence secretary John Healey said Britain “is ready” to respond, with “military options” drawn up if the ship heads south, in a warning to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
He told a Westminster press conference: “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.”
But what is the Yantar vessel – and what is it doing near British territory?
Yantar is a special-purpose vessel built by the Russian Navy’s secretive Main Directorate of Underwater Research (GUGI), an element of Russia’s armed forces – although it reports directly to the Ministry of Defence.
Its objective, according to the Council on Geostrategy, a non-profit think tank based in Westminster, London, is to operate submarines that can gather intelligence on the deep sea, allowing possible sabotage of underwater cables.
The ship, which was launched in 2012 and commissioned for work in 2015, is 107.8m (354 ft) long and can reach a speed of 15knots (28kph).
It has since been spotted carrying out operations near the Caribbean islands, Brazil, Norway, Greenland, the Mediterranean and Ireland, among other areas.
In January, Yantar was spotted near British waters, with Mr Healey describing it as “another example of growing Russian aggression”.
When Yantar approached British waters in January, Mr Healey said the ship was used for mapping the UK’s critical water infrastructure.
On Wednesday, he echoed those comments.
“It is part of a Russian fleet designed to put and hold our undersea infrastructure and those of our allies at risk,” he said.
“It isn’t just a naval operation. It’s part of a Russian programme driven by what they call the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research, or GUGI, and this is designed to have capabilities which can undertake surveillance in peacetime and sabotage in conflict.”
